


This Play is Badly Cast

by nothing_is_beautiful_and_true



Category: Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cops and Robbers Yo, F/M, Humor, Persona 4 Retelling, Romance, Slow Burn, Sly Cooper has Trained Me for this Moment, Sort of a Frenemies Deal, noir
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2019-11-13 04:35:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18024788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nothing_is_beautiful_and_true/pseuds/nothing_is_beautiful_and_true
Summary: I was supposed to spend a year in Inaba. Start fresh, serve my probation, keep my head down, move on with my life.Of course, nothing ever seems to come easy for people like me.





	1. I Never Saw it Coming

**Author's Note:**

> So I was re-watching the Endurance Run to celebrate the tenth anniversary, when it occurred to me that the P5 protagonist in the P4 setting would be pretty interesting. Plus I wanted to see him interact with Naoto. And from those two disparate elements, this terrible idea was born. Pfft.
> 
> I'm not, like, super familiar with Golden. So don't expect to see much from there, unless I come across something I happen to like. Also, expect a bunch of Endurance Run references lmfao.

Blue everywhere. More of a red person myself. Blue was cool but too soft; always wound up playing second fiddle to red. Red was bold and vibrant. Phoenix Ranger Featherman R taught me that.

The cold leather seat pressed against my back. Outside the limo's windows, dense fog obscured my view. They sat across from me: an old man and a young woman. He had a nose to make Pinocchio jealous—could probably stab a guy with that honker. She sat behind enough bottles of wine to make Dad proud.

They were silent. Waiting. I'd play their game. Games were my specialty.

I leaned forward. Fluted crystal wine glasses and bottles of champagne lined the left side. I poured myself a drink, put the glass to my lips, paused, and fixed the old man with a cheeky stare. He met my gaze steadily. They still said nothing.

The champagne tasted like stars fading away at dawn.

"Not bad," I said.

"I'm glad our guest enjoys our hospitality." The old man chuckled, hands clasped tight and tucked beneath his chin.

"Have you ever heard the story of Monk Dom Perignon?" I settled back in my seat. The old man shook his head. "He was making white wine and decided to bottle it earlier than usual because he thought all the sugar had converted to alcohol. But really, it was so cold that the yeast went to sleep early before it finished eating. When spring came, the yeast woke up and ate the rest of the sugar. But rushing made the yeast bubbly—could even call it gassy if you're feeling frisky—and when Dom Perignon returned he found corks popping off all around him. He tried the wine and loved the result. And viola. Champagne. Really, if you think about, champagne is like the bear of the alcohol world."

The old man seemed unmoved by the moral of my story. The woman might as well have been an extension of the furniture. I finished the champagne.

At last, he chuckled again. "You are an intriguing guest. I'm delighted to make your acquaintance. My name is Igor."

I tipped the now empty wine glass in his direction. "Ren Amamiya."

"This place is between dream and reality, mind and matter… in this room only those bound by a contract may enter. It may be that such a fate awaits you in the near future."

Contract? That got my attention. Everything else he'd said sounded like intentionally vague mumbo jumbo, but the word 'contract' confirmed my suspicion that he was some sort of con man.

"Do you believe in fortune-telling?" he asked.

I snorted by way of an answer. Igor smiled. Then he waved a hand, and multiple cards appeared before him.

"Hm... The Tower in the upright position represents the immediate future. It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent. The card indicating the future beyond that is..."

Igor flipped over another card. I straightened, interested despite my skepticism.

"The Moon, in the upright position. This card represents 'hesitation' and mystery.'"

"Ah, yes. So we insert the upright tower into the moon, and then…?" This was stupid.

The woman shifted slightly. Igor's smile widened.

"You have been chained by a terrible fate. Dealt an unfair hand, one might say. This year will be a turning point for you, young Ren. My job is to provide assistance to guests such as yourself. But where are my manners? This is Margaret. She's a resident of this place, much like myself."

He waved in her direction. She nodded at me.

"You live in a limo?" I asked. "Damn, that sucks."

Neither responded to my smartass mark.

"We'll meet again soon," Igor said. "Until then, farewell."

The world faded away, like stars at dawn.

…

"We'll be arriving at Yasoinaba Station shortly. All passengers heading to Inaba, please move to the left…"

The announcer's voice pulled me out of my daze. People shifted around me as I changed lines. Reports of a politician's affair blared from every news outlet. Fuck politicians. Snakes, all of them.

The crowds thinned as I moved further from the city. I preferred being surrounded by others. Made it easier to blend in, stay under the radar.

But now I was being shipped off to the boonies. And everyone there would know me as the student who'd gotten expelled—the student with a criminal record. My hand started hurting; I'd dug my fingernails into my palm. Crescent-shaped indents shone beneath the train's fluorescent lighting.

Skyscrapers transformed into suburbs which transformed into open plains. Miles would pass before I saw another building, farmsteads more often than not. I felt very alone.

At last, I arrived at Inaba. My prison for a year. I braced myself and stepped off the train.

"Hey, over here."

That had to be Ryotaro Dojima. My uncle, my jailor. He waited for me at the steps to the station, grizzled, bags under his eyes, a little girl clinging beside him. My 'cop' siren wailed a warning.

I stared, silent, determined not to make it easy. Dojima fidgeted and coughed before introducing himself.

"Well, you're more handsome in person than in your photo." He laughed, awkward. More silence. "You might not remember, but we've already met. I've changed your diapers before."

Creepy.

Dojima seemed at a loss. He scratched the back of his head. Then he gestured toward the girl hiding behind him.

"Oh, uh, this here's my daughter. C' mon, Nanako, introduce yourself to your cousin."

Dojima ushered Nanako forward.

She stared at the ground, a faint blush staining her cheeks. "... 'lo."

Nanako ran back behind Dojima. It was pretty cute. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for kids.

Dojima chuckled. "What are you so shy for—ow."

_Thud._

He buckled, laughing, a real one this time. It set me more at ease. Cops that could laugh like that usually weren't too bad. And he  _was_  my uncle.

Maybe everything would turn out okay. Just one year. I could do this.

…

"You can't go outside," Dojima said.

I'd stood up and started moving toward the stairs. The awkward silence was unbearable, and I felt nauseous. His words made me freeze. I turned and faced Dojima, reigning in the urge to fire back with a snarky retort.

"Okay."

I went upstairs.

My room was barren. Unpacked boxes were stacked everywhere. Fun. Setting aside my glasses, I changed into slacks. The empty streets beyond my window were tempting, begging me to sneak out just to spite Dojima. But nah, it wasn't worth it. I still didn't feel well, and besides, no point making enemies on the first day. 

I flicked off the lights and crawled into bed. My stomach roiled, and despite my exhaustion, sleep proved elusive. At some point, the door creaked open. A shadow fell over me. After a moment, the door creaked shut.

It took me a long time to drift off.

I woke up with a pounding headache. Sleep had almost made it worse, not helped by the strange dreams that plagued my night. Bewildering fog and shit; I blamed the news.

Downstairs, Nanako of all people had already cooked breakfast. What the hell?

"Good morning." She set down a plate of eggs and bacon. "Okay. Let's eat!"

"Where's your dad?" I asked, taking a seat.

"He got called into work super early."

The food tasted good. Still, it didn't feel right eating breakfast made by a little kid.

"And that happens a lot?" I asked. Nanako nodded. "Hey, I like cooking. If Dojima's not around, I can take care of it for you."

Her eyes widened. "Really? Dad can't cook, so usually, I buy dinner."

Damn, why was I the one on probation, again? I frowned and focused on eating, not trusting myself to speak.

We walked to school together. Nanako didn't talk much; she still seemed rather shy. We went our separate ways at the Samegawa flood plains.

Rain fell in sheets on my umbrella. Inaba was a small town, meaning there weren't many people around. I felt too exposed—too out in the open. Everyone could see me.

Yasogami High was much smaller than my old school. At least the uniforms were cool, those checkered collars were dope. My homeroom teacher turned out to be a stooped middle-aged man with terrible teeth and, somehow, an even worse haircut.

"I don't want any funny business from you, ya hear?" Mr. Morooka said the question like a statement. "I've got my eye on you."

My parole officer would've been impressed with my restraint. I stayed quiet. We entered the classroom, a hush falling over the students.

"Awright, shut your traps." Mr. Morooka glowered at everyone. "First things first. We've got a new transfer student. This sad sack got kicked out of his old school. Thrown out like a pile of yesterday's garbage. Why we took him in, I'll never know… this place'll take anyone these days. This guy's a criminal, y' hear? A loser who'll never amount to nothing. So you girls better not even think about hitting on him!"

He then went on a rant about girls and something about snow. I'd bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood. Students shifted, exchanging wary glances. What a great start. Then Mr. Morooka asked me to introduce myself.

"You're one to talk about losers," I said, unable to help myself. I'd promised not to make any enemies on the first day. The second day, however, was open season. Several of the students laughed.

"Shaddup!" Mr. Morooka turned purple. The vein in his temple looked ready to burst. "That's it, you're on my shit list, effective immediately."

He continued ranting, but I was too angry to pay attention. This guy was a teacher? My teacher, even? What a fucking joke. The unfairness of it all had me seeing red.

Eventually, I took a seat. People whispered around me, their eyes burning into my neck. When homeroom ended, I stood up and left.

I exited the school premise, and I didn't look back.

…

Thick fog replaced the rain. I didn't know where to go, so I just picked a direction and moved forward. They'd told me Inaba would be a fresh start. So much for that. I should've realized I'd be screwed from the get-go. Somehow, I wound up at the gas station again.

The friendly gas attendant from before was there. She looked surprised to see me.

"Still need some help?" I asked.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" she replied.

"Please. I just… you don't have to pay me or anything. Think of it as volunteer work." Or community service. "Please let me help."

She stared at me. Her expression softened. "Okay. But just this once—you shouldn't be missing out on school. If I let you do this, you promise not to skip again?"

"Yeah. Yeah, sure." I nodded, grateful. "Thanks so much."

She went in back and scrounged up a uniform for me. We talked it out with the owner, who seemed a lot more willing to let things slide when he found out I'd help for free. Work proved slow, and we shared a few cigarettes on the curb.

"Didn't take you for a rebel," she commented. "More to you than meets the eye."

I blew out a ring of smoke. "Does this lower my chances of getting hired?"

She laughed. "Naw. A spot of excitement is nice for a small town like this. Between you and the Midnight Channel, stuff has been pretty interesting lately."

That piqued my curiosity. She told me more, talking soulmates and rainy nights and a bunch of other junk that probably wasn't true. Still, it sounded kind of neat. Might as well check it out, not like I had anything better to do. 

We returned from our impromptu break. She went to clean the bathrooms while I loitered by the gas pump. A long black limo rolled up. It reminded me of my dream. A fair-haired man wearing sunglasses stepped out and headed inside to pay.

Another man, a boy, really, exited the back of the limo. He wore neat blue clothes and stood ramrod straight. Formal. Too formal. Almost like a—.

Shit. 

My cop senses triggered a full-blown code red. No way. No  _way_. He could almost pass for twelve—but my cop senses had never failed before. He noticed me and tilted his head.

"You're rather young to work here." His words, much like his clothes, were stiff and formal.

Great. A tryhard. Also, pot meet kettle. His grey eyes peered straight through me; I felt naked and exposed.

"I get that a lot," I said, gruffly, to sound older. He seemed satisfied and stared off into the distance.

"I have not visited in a long time. Would you recommend any places?" he asked.

Please don't make small talk with me. I tried to remember what the gas station attendant had mentioned the other day. But my accursed memory failed me (I hadn't been paying attention because I hadn't cared quite frankly).

"Uh… well, I'm rather new here, myself. Heard Junes is pretty popular."

"I have, as well. I'd much rather visit the local restaurants, though. That is part of the charm of these small towns." He lapsed into silence.

The other man returned, and I filled up their tank. The young man tipped his hat at me. I nodded back, reminding myself to breathe all the while.

Sirens wailed in the distance. A police car squealed past, blue and red lights barely visible in the dense fog. The young man followed its path until it vanished from sight. Then he got back in the limo. They drove away, and I sighed with relief.

A few hours later, and I began the long trek home. Suddenly I realized a police car was following me. It pulled up beside me, and the window rolled down. A cop with heavy jowls stuck his head out.

"Ren Amamiya?"

Busted.

"What's it to you?" I asked.

"Get in the car."

"Wha—I'm just on my way back from school—."

"Get in the car,  _now_."

I complied grumpily. Fantastic. Could this day get any worse?

…

"You're under arrest for suspicion of murder."

Apparently, the answer was yes.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," I said. The young detective ignored me.

"Why weren't you at school?" he asked.

"Because 'fuck you, I want my lawyer,' that's why." My temper flared up. He looked mildly intimidated.

The door opened, and Dojima stormed in. His face resembled a thundercloud.

"Ah, Dojima-san, I've got this under control—."

"Shut up, Adachi. You," he pointed at me, "come on. Let's go."

I smirked at Adachi and then stood up. The smirk vanished when Dojima glared at me. A sullen silence bloomed between us, lasting until we reached the car. It was late out; I'd been stuck inside the police station for hours. My stomach rumbled.

Once we got in the car, I spoke. "What was he talking about—?"

Dojima slammed his fists on the steering wheel. I jumped. He said, "What the hell were you thinking?! Are you trying to screw yourself over? Skipping school on the first day? I just stuck my neck out so far for you, it might end up getting chopped off."

"... I have an alibi," I muttered. "I was at the gas station all day. Ask them about it."

"I don't give a flying fuck, Ren. You're on thin ice as it is. It took every connection your mother and I had to get the principal to let you into Yasogami High. Don't blow it. I swear if you so much as put a toe out of line—."

"Okay, fine, I get it," I mumbled. Dojima softened.

"You're a good kid, Ren. I don't… I want you to succeed. Okay?"

I stared at my hands, resentful, saying nothing.

Nanako was long asleep by the time we got home. I turned on the news and found Mayumi Yamano had been murdered; strung up on a television antenna. Suddenly I was ill all over again.

If not for Dojima I could've easily been in deep, deep shit. He looked as tired as I felt.

"I need to head back into work. I… don't leave the house, no matter what. Do you understand?"

I nodded. Once again, I didn't get much sleep that night.

…

Everyone at school avoided me. No one said it to my face, but the accusations burned in their gazes. Even the teachers eyed me with unspoken suspicion. I sunk low in my seat, wishing to turn invisible.

The murder was all anyone could talk about. Nothing like this had happened in a place like Inaba, ever. Not to mention the bizarre nature of Yamano's death. And it figured it would happen right when I came into town.

I lived a cursed life. Why did every decision I make always backfire with the worst possible consequences? What god had I pissed off for this to happen? Why were the scales of justice tipped so heavily against me?

After school, news coverage of the murder continued. Although the inconclusive autopsy had them questioning whether it even was a murder. Ridiculous. What, she fell and just wound up hanging from an antenna? Yeah, okay.

Dojima was nowhere to be found that night. It was just Nanako and me. I cooked dinner for her.

"This is really good!" Her face lit up.

"Thanks." I smiled. Nanako bit her lip.

"People at my school were saying mean things about you… but you don't seem bad to me."

"C' mon, not even a little bad?" I rubbed my temple, weary, staving off another headache.

Nanako giggled. "Maybe a little."

We watched an interview with a student who'd found the body. The interviewer acted incredibly rude. How some of the people here had jobs, given their level of incompetence, baffled me. Although perhaps small towns didn't have many options.

Dojima came home and fell asleep on the couch. I left him with Nanako and went up to my room.

I was too restless, unable to sleep. Thoughts of the recent murder, thoughts of my past, my prior convictions, haunted me. I sat on the couch and read a book.

The clock struck midnight.

My TV turned on. Static played across it. Startled, I closed the book. Suddenly I remembered the attendant's story about the Midnight Channel.

A woman danced on the screen, contorting as static sparked across. A voice went off in my head; it was like someone had taken a cleaver to my skull.

It hurt. It hurt so damn bad.

And just as quickly as it came, the splitting migraine was gone. I straightened. A bracken taste coated the inside of my mouth.

I stared at the TV. Rain pattered outside, streaking against the window. After a moment, I touched the screen.

My hand sank inside the television.

Well. Shit.


	2. Shot through the Heart

 A pounding migraine woke me up. At the base of my skull throbbed a tender knot from when I'd banged my head on the coffee table.

Before leaving, I pressed my hand into the television again. It slid straight through.

What the fuck. This was crazy.

My arm tingled long after I tugged it free, a weird pins-and-needles sensation. Maybe I was having a stroke.

I shook my head and then left for school. Bizarre as this was, I couldn't afford to be late.

School passed in a haze. People whispered that a third-year had found the body. A 'Saki Konishi,' the one they'd interviewed. Teachers moved classes forward, but they also seemed on edge. I just stayed under the radar.

Speaking of teachers, why were they all batshit mental? King Moron (quite the apt nickname) was hands-down the worst, but there was also a woman that wore a pharaoh helmet, a dude with a puppet of his own face, and Mr. Yamada, who was just… creepy. Not King Moron creepy, but more like that jock that regularly hit on girls. Maybe their options were limited since it was such a small school. Whatever.

I mulled over what happened with the TV and the Midnight Channel. But how the hell was anyone supposed to take anything from that? Maybe I'd gone on a bad trip.

After school, I went grocery shopping, in desperate need of a distraction. Besides, the Dojima Residence was tragically short on supplies. That I'd managed to cook anything decent at all the previous night was a minor miracle. I went home, picked up the shopping money from Nanako, and walked to Junes.

Junes was less crowded than usual. People wanted to stay out of the rain, probably. Although in the courtyard, protected beneath a tarp, were two students. My classmates, even. I recognized them: Chie Satonaka and Yosuke Hanamura.

They saw me and started. Yosuke looked nervous. Chie had an enormous piece of steak shoved in her mouth. She swallowed with difficulty. I almost avoided them, but no dice.

"Oh, uh, hey! You're the new transfer student, right? Amamiya-san…?" Chie called out. Yosuke muttered something under his breath, and she scowled at him. "Don't be such an ass."

She didn't seem to understand the concept of whispering. Resigned to my fate, I walked toward them. Rainwater dripped off my umbrella.

"Hey," I said.

"How do you like Inaba so far? I mean, aside from the murder, haha…" Chie winced, and Yosuke snorted. "Oh, but, uh, it's not usually like that!"

I'd hope not.

"He's a city slicker, Chie. He probably sees this stuff all the time." Yosuke had a rather punchable face, I decided. She looked irritated.

"Okay? By that logic, so do you!"

"Yeah, but I'm not a  _criminal_." He rolled his eyes. Definitely punchable.

"Pretty much. For me, it was Tuesday," I said.

They stared, wide-eyed, alarm clearly evident. Yosuke coughed and said, "W-well, the police aren't sure if it's even actually murder."

Right, she fell. Now I was the one rolling my eyes.

"That's stupid, Yosuke," Chie said. "Anyway, it might not seem like it right now, but Inaba is a really nice little town. No one's had much of a chance to show you around, so, y' know…"

She floundered.

"Ah, yes. All of the two places to go, and he's already found one of them." Yosuke scoffed. I warmed up to him a bit, then.

Chie looked indignant and said, "That's not true! T-there's the floodplains, the shopping district, the Amagi Inn, um…"

She hesitated and then shoved more food in her mouth. Impressive. She looked like a chipmunk. I started planning my escape when Chie asked a muffled question. "By the way, Amamiya-san, have you watched the Midnight Channel yet?"

I paused. "Yeah. Why?"

"Isn't that wild?" She leaned forward, eyes lighting up. "Yosuke and I were talking about it just now! Apparently, people were saying that Mayumi Yamano was their soulmate. And when we checked it out last night, I saw someone, too! It was a girl, though. Why would my soulmate be a girl?"

Uh… was that a rhetorical question? Judging by Yosuke's expression, we were currently on the same page. Still, this was interesting. I took a seat.

"I'm pretty sure I saw the same girl," Yosuke said. Suddenly he fidgeted. "She… she kinda looked like Saki-senpai."

"The girl that found Mayumi Yamano?" I asked. His face reddened, and he nodded. I opened my mouth and then paused. The back of my neck prickled.

I swiveled. Approaching us was the young man from the other day. Shit. Even the way he held his umbrella was posh as hell, his grey eyes focused on me.

"Greetings. You know, you rather remind me of a gas attendant I met yesterday. I was under the impression he wasn't a student, however, given the time of day." His response was pointed. Chie and Yosuke gaped at me.

"I get that a lot." I kept my cool. He looked unamused and disapproving. His gaze flicked toward Yosuke.

"Yosuke Hanamura?"

"Y-yes?" Yosuke squeaked out. Okay, seeing someone else squirm beneath the eye of the law gave me a fair bit of schadenfreude, gotta be honest. It made for a nice change of pace.

"I was hoping to ask you a few questions. Alone. If that's amenable with you, of course."

Amenable? What, was he secretly forty trapped in the body of an eleven-year-old? 

"Oh, uh, sure," Yosuke said.

A chunk of meat dropped out of Chie's mouth. Nasty. She blushed and quickly scooped it back up. I excused myself, not interested in lingering when a little nark was lurking around.

I headed toward the grocery aisle, having forgotten my original reason for coming in all the excitement. But as I passed the electronics section, I slowed. The strange events of last night and the conversation revolving around the Midnight Channel got me thinking. My TV was too small to fit in all the way. But if it was bigger…

What the hell was I doing? Almost before I knew it, I stood in front of a large flat-screen television. This was nuts.

I touched the screen. It rippled like water, and my hand sunk in. No one was around. I went deeper. Head, shoulders, torso—wow, there's a lot of empty space—and just like that, I was inside, falling toward infinity.

…

I hit the ground with a painful thud. Stunned, I just lay there. A thick fog covered the area, and fluorescent yellow light shone down above me. Really didn't help my raging headache.

Gingerly, I sat up. Panic flared in my chest. I'd just fallen into a TV, trapped in some bizarro studio (it was a studio, right? Right?). I looked around but saw little. Just shapes and notions.

After a moment, I stood. My body felt like one giant bruise. The knot on the back of my head throbbed painfully. I was reminded of my dream—all I could do was move forward. Find some sort of exit.

"Well, you've really fucked up this time," I said aloud to reassure myself. The silence was terrifying, and the fog swallowed my words almost before they left my mouth.

I picked a direction and started walking. I held out my hands, needing to feel around, better understand my surroundings. The cold metal railing provided some sense of direction and relief.

After fumbling around for an unknown length of time, I stumbled across a balcony. Down it was a door; it glowed red. Ominous. Still, better than nothing.

It was an apartment room. The fog seemed lighter inside, too, thank god. But the atmosphere creeped me out. Sort of like being at a graveyard, only more malignant. The shredded posters and the pseudo noose didn't help matters.

I sat on the bed and tried my cell. No service, what a surprise. I put my head in my hands, uncertain of what to do next. 

"What's the matter?"

I looked up. A strange, shifting shape sat across from me, on the chair beneath the noose. I couldn't find the energy to be alarmed. This place made me lethargic.

"I'm trapped."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I can't do anything." Bitterness crept into my response.

"Then why did you help the girl?"

Maybe I should've been surprised it knew about that. But nothing could shock me at this point. Everything had taken on a dream-like, ethereal quality.

"Because it was the right thing to do. Fat lot of good that did me." My hands balled into fists.

"You're not one to sit back and watch."

"Dunno. Does it matter? I couldn't do anything then, I can't do anything now." Tears pricked at my eyes. I was shaking. "I'm scared. I want to go home."

"Where is home?"

"I don't know! But it's not here, that's for damn sure," I snapped.

"You regret what you did."

I went quiet, thinking about the question. "No."

"You would do it again, knowing the consequences?"

What did he mean? Me jumping into the TV, or me saving the girl?

"... Yes."

The shadow vanished. I dried my eyes and walked back to where I'd initially landed. That apartment was a dead end, and the malevolent aura made me ill.

Something waited for me there. A weird bear… monkey… thing. It paced around, mumbling under its breath. A talking bear. Once again, I should've been surprised, and yet wasn't. I stared for a long moment before reaching a decision. I wasn't exactly in a position to be picky.

"Hi," I said.

It jumped and spun around. "Gah! W-who are you?!"

Male. Probably. "I could ask you the same question."

"W-well, don't, cuz I asked first!" He frowned.

"My name's Ren Amamiya. I'm looking for a way out."

"Yes, yes, you should hurry back to your side. Someone's been throwing people in here. It's a big headache."

What? Actually, forget it. I didn't care. An opportunity had appeared.

"Okay, that's great and all, but I don't know how to leave." 

The bear stamped his foot. He seemed agitated. "Grr, that's why I'm saying I'll let you out!"

He definitely never said that, but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Hope fluttered in my chest. "Really?"

In response, he tapped the ground. Three TVs, one on top of the other, appeared. I jumped back, startled. Shit, this place was weird. I was half-convinced I was tripping balls and would come back to reality any minute now.

"Go, go, go!" The bear started pushing me.

I stumbled and fell, tumbling through black and white before landing on the Junes floor with a thump.

"The fuck?!"

I groaned and flopped on my back. Nearby, Chie, Yosuke, and the young cop guy all hovered upside down. Young cop guy reacted first, kneeling beside me.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

I rolled over, opened my mouth, and puked on his shoes in response.

…

Young cop guy had excused himself to clean up. He told us to wait, but I convinced Yosuke and Chie to take me straight home. I was in pretty pathetic shape, so it wasn't hard. We ditched young cop guy, and they bombarded me with questions that I didn't even know how to begin to answer.

"Look… I… I'll tell you about it tomorrow. Deal?" I said at last. They looked me over, glanced at each other, and then nodded.

"Deal."

Dojima answered the door. He took in my appearance, thanked Yosuke and Chie, and helped me upstairs to my room.

"Were you out drinking?" he asked.

"No…"

Dojima fixed me with a stern stare. I really just wanted to go to sleep.

"I went to Junes to buy groceries. But I fainted."

My futon was so warm and comfortable. I yawned.

"It's true." Nanako stood by the door. "He came by and got the grocery money."

Dojima's expression sharpened. "And where's the money now?"

Where was the trust was my question? Also, way to kick a guy while he's down. Drowsy, I fumbled through my pockets and handed the yen back. He counted it in front of me, the absolute dick, and then sighed.

"I'm sorry. I just needed to make sure. Get some rest, I'd rather you not miss school if possible."

His expression softened. He moved as if to brush aside the curls clinging to my clammy forehead, and then thought better of it. Dojima scratched the back of his head. I didn't say anything, not interested in providing an out for a guy who'd just accused me of stealing.

"Why did you count the money, dad?" Nanako asked, voice growing softer as they both moved away. Dojima's response was unintelligible. I drifted off after that.

The news was on the next morning. It went over the murder details again, also bringing up the affair. When I saw the enka singer, I realized her poster had been in the television world. That troubled me.

Could there be a relation? And if so, should I really keep quiet about this in good consciousness? What even  _was_ this, though? 

Melancholic, I focused on breakfast instead. The news also brought up the Amagi Inn, and how Mayumi Yamano had been staying there. Chie had mentioned it, and that one of my classmates was the owner's daughter.

In fact, wasn't she friends with Chie? Fuck, I couldn't remember any of this shit. I'd spent the past few days avoiding people.

I walked to school, lost in thought, debating what to tell the others. It almost felt like a dream. Surely they wouldn't believe me, right? Several students gossiped about the murder. Sirens went off in the distance. Foreboding flickered through me: something terrible had happened.

At school, an assembly was called, and there they announced Saki Konishi's death.

I'd felt much better upon waking up, but my stomach churned at the news. Oh fuck. Yosuke and Chie stared at me. They both looked pale too. Yosuke was trembling.

They cornered me during lunch period.

"What the hell is going on?!" Yosuke grabbed me by my collar and shoved me against the wall. Chie hauled him back.

"Yosuke, don't—."

"Saki-senpai is dead! And she was on the Midnight Channel again, last night, I know it was her! And others saw her too! And then there's this jackass, coming out of TVs and hurting girls, and, and…"

Yosuke stared at the ground, hands balled into fists. I stiffened.

"I never hurt that girl," I said, suddenly furious. "And I didn't touch Saki Konishi, either. I don't even know what she looks like."

He bit his lip. "Yeah, sure, whatever."

An awkward silence blossomed between us.

_You are not one to sit back and watch_.

"Look, I… I don't think you'd believe what I had to say if I just told you. So let's go to Junes, and I'll show you."

They shared glances.

"Fine," Yosuke said. "But talk on the way there, and talk fast."

Okay, mister tough guy. But I saw his eyes were damp and refrained from taking the bait.

School ended, and when we exited, young cop guy was by the entrance. Shit.

"Shit," Yosuke said.

Young cop guy looked extremely unhappy.

"I told you to wait for me." His words were tight and curt, carefully controlled.

I walked a few paces, paused, and then continued walking. "There, I waited."

He darted in front of me, cutting me off, arms folded and feet planted shoulder-width apart. What was this, some sort of western duel? I tensed.

"Now is not a wise time for glibness. You're aware that circumstances paint you in an unfavorable light, yes?" he asked.

I had the sudden image of him stooping over a thesaurus, frantically researching large words, and although I dearly wanted to comment on it, I held back. He was right, as annoying as that was to admit, being a smartass in such a precarious situation wouldn't end well. Then he surprised me.

"Call it detective's intuition… I don't think you're the culprit. But whatever happened to you with that TV is connected to the murders. Walk with me."

It wasn't a question.

"I don't have a choice, huh?" I asked, resigned. His smile was grim.

"No, I'm afraid not. My name is Naoto Shirogane."

He cocked his head at Chie and Yosuke.

"They're coming too," I said before Yosuke could stick his foot in his mouth. "I already told them everything."

A bald-faced lie, but they seemed to catch on and kept quiet. Naoto contemplated them a moment longer.

"Very well." He walked off.

Yosuke's dumbfounded expression was remarkably similar to how I felt just then.

...

They watched me shove my hand in the TV for the umpteenth time. Naoto was taking notes.

"And this bear said people were being thrown in?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah."

"Did you ask him more about it?"

"No, I was a little distracted trying to get the hell out as fast as possible." That reminded me of something. I appraised Naoto and smirked. "Nice shoes, by the way."

He looked briefly annoyed before his expression smoothed over. Chie frowned.

"Okay, hold up. I can't be the only one who finds this absolutely insane, right?" she asked.

"Nope, definitely not the only one," I muttered.

"It does seem rather far-fetched." Naoto tapped his pen against the notebook. "But a lead is a lead. And the evidence so far corroborates his tale. I want to talk to this bear."

I'd anticipated this happening. The thought of returning to that fogbound place made me sick to my stomach. Yet someone else had died. And if Saki Konishi's death truly was connected to that world, then maybe I could've helped her. I felt... guilty. Responsible, almost. I took a deep breath.

"Okay."

Naoto raised his brow.

"What?!" Chie shouted. "You're going back to the place where two people probably already died?"

A little louder, please, so the entire store could hear.

"I'm coming too." Yosuke had vanished at some point, and now returned carrying a rope and a golf club.

"Y-y-are you crazy?!" Chie asked, wide-eyed. Yosuke gestured with the golf club.

"It's protection. And we can tie the rope around our torso."

"Like a lifeline." Naoto looked impressed. Okay, let's not get carried away here.

"There's no way that's going to work," I said.

"Geez, not with that attitude. It'll be fine, Chie can stay and hold onto it," Yosuke replied.

"Me? Why?!"

"Because you were the one just crying about how this was crazy. Besides, I need to go in there, see if I can… figure out what happened to her…" Yosuke stared at the floor.

A somber pall smothered us, killing the mood. At last Naoto broke the silence. "Are you sure about this? It will be dangerous, and we don't know what to expect."

He breathed deep and then nodded. Chie took the rope, although she still looked uncertain. Yosuke tried handing Naoto the golf club.

"Hmm? Oh, I won't be needing that. You'd be better off giving it to Amamiya-san." He adjusted his coat, revealing—.

"Oh my god, that's a gun." Instinctively, I half-hid behind Yosuke. "Who gives a fucking gun to a ten-year-old?"

"I'm _fifteen_." Naoto turned bright red. Interesting.

"Wow, that's way more comforting."

He ignored me. "And I assure you, I have a license, and my training was quite thorough. As I was saying on the way over—."

"Yeah, yeah, detective prodigy and your family's hot shit too." I took the golf club from Yosuke and slung it across my shoulders. "Let's do this thing already."

…

"Y-y- you came back?" The mysterious bear jumped away. He's been waiting in the same place. Naoto and Yosuke both blanched.

"Yeah. We wanted to ask you some questions," I said, standing and brushing the dust off my pants.

He stamped his foot, throwing a tantrum. "Grr, why would you come back? It's a one-way door! _I_  had to  _let_  you out, remember?"

"What the fuck," Yosuke muttered. He was holding the rope and staring at both ends. Bust. I knew it wouldn't work, too. 

Naoto also found his feet. He cleared his throat, hand pressed against his temple.

"Indeed. We were told that you had information about someone throwing people in."

Mysterious bear stamped the ground and growled, "Yeah! It used to be real quiet around here until people got thrown in! Now the shadows are all riled up!"

Shadows?

"Do you know how many people were thrown in?" Naoto asked. Mysterious bear scratched his head.

"Two. Three if you count him, although he came on his own. Are you going to stop people from being thrown in?" He sounded hopeful.

"That's the plan. Where we came from, whenever fog appeared, the victim's bodies appeared with it. And considering there's fog here… is there some sort of correlation?" Naoto asked.

"Huh?" Mysterious bear blinked. He had freakishly huge eyes. "Well, um, I know when fog isn't here the shadows get really violent. It's super scary, and I hide whenever that happens."

"Do you understand any of this shit?" Yosuke whispered to me.

"Hell no." I shook my head.

"That's the second time you've mentioned these shadows. What are they?"

"They live here with me." Mysterious bear's ears twitched. "They used to be peaceful until lately. Maybe…" he focused on me. "Maybe you're the culprit!"

Not this again.

"I'm as clueless as you are, dude."

Naoto considered me for a moment. I met his gaze, a bit defiantly. He eventually asked, "Where is here?"

"How should I know?" Mysterious bear exploded with anger out of nowhere. "This place is what it is! Are you gonna find the culprit or not?"

"This damn bear is starting to get on my nerves." Yosuke looked irritated. "It better let us out, or else."

"Do you have a name?" Naoto asked. His composure was rather impressive, which annoyed me.

"I'm Teddie."

Of course. 

Naoto looked him dead in the eyes and said, "Teddie, I promise to find and apprehend the culprit."

Teddie tilted his entire body. Then he relaxed, nodding, and said, "Okay. I'll help. But you better keep your promise. I can show you where the last person fell if you want."

We exchanged glances.

"That would be excellent," Naoto said. "Thank you, Teddie."

He beamed. Then he handed us glasses that he'd made, apparently. It was all quite surreal. But when I put them on, visibility increased, and my headache lessened. Teddie was now my new favorite… whatever he was.

We followed Teddie.

The studio (I still wasn't quite sure if that was what it was, but 'studio' would have to do) turned into a paved concrete road. I fell in line with Naoto.

"Any ideas?"

He stared at me, steady, and then said, guarded, "A few theories, but nothing tenable."

Naoto did still suspect me, didn't he? I clammed up, sulking, while the area around us changed, becoming familiar—.

"This is the shopping district," Yosuke said. "Saki-senpai's family owned… I mean, own a wine shop here."

He bit his lip—he did that a lot. A thin sheen of sweat filmed his face. Naoto didn't look too hot, either, thinking about it. Maybe I'd already begun to acclimate? Damn, what a scary thought.

"Who's Saki-senpai? Someone you know?" Teddie chirped from behind us. Yosuke mopped his forehead with his sleeve.

"That doesn't matter—and, hey, wait, what are you doing back there?! You're supposed to be leading the way!" He spun around and glared at Teddie.

"We're almost there. And I'm better at providing support… from a safe distance. I'm a lover, not a fighter, baby." Teddie hid behind Naoto.

Yosuke shook his head and said, "You better not high-tail it as soon as something goes wrong, dumb bear."

Teddie reddened. How did a bear blush? 

"This can't be the real shopping district," Naoto noted, defusing the situation in the process.

"Everything's been so tangled lately…" Teddie turned pensive. Probably. I still hadn't quite gotten a handle on him. "This is reality for the one who came here."

"Nothing you say makes any sense," Yosuke complained.

"Oi, lay off him," I said. That was our ticket out of here. Teddie smiled at me, ears perking up.

Yosuke started. Then he cleared his throat and stayed quiet until we reached the liquor store. A red and black light shone out of the entrance, much like the one at that apartment.

"I knew it. This is Saki-senpai's home," Yosuke said. "But why…?"

He stepped forward as if spellbound.

Everything happened quickly then. Teddie shouted a warning, Naoto pulled out his gun, and a black creature leaped at Yosuke from the entrance. He stumbled and fell. The creature was round, a slavering jaw, all mouth with a huge tongue and sharp teeth.

Naoto fired. The pistol's gunshot rang loud in the oppressive silence. The monster lurched, and another reared up from behind Naoto. He spun and shot again.

We ran. Naoto had slowed them, but they didn't stop. I still had my golf club, but what use was it when those things could shrug off bullets? They slobbered behind us, chasing us down the hall.

Fuck. My heart pounded in my ears.

Caskets of wine littered the floor. This version of the liquor store was much larger on the inside than the outside. It stretched on and on and on and on. So much  _clutter,_ like holy shit, did no one clean up around here?

(Focus.)

I banged my knee on something hard at one point—it was hard to tell what, exactly, in the dim lighting and the heat of the moment. Pain spread up my leg like fire.

But I kept running. If I stopped, I would die. This, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt. We turned a corner—dead end. I skidded to a halt, before turning and facing my foes. If I was going down, I was going down swinging. I held the golf club up in a futile bid at defiance.

Nothing.

Where had they gone?

Our harsh breathing filled the silence. Suddenly I realized Yosuke was missing. Where the fuck had he—?

_Thud_.

Naoto slumped to the ground. He cradled his shoulder, face pale. When had he gotten hurt? Everything happened so fast. My head was spinning, and my knee was killing me. Teddie crouched beside Naoto, concern evident.

"Fuck," I said out loud, helpless, remaining alert for those enemies. Any sound had me on edge. "What now?"

"I'm fine," Naoto said. "It just… caught me by surprise."

His stupid, poncy jacket was several shades too dark on the right shoulder, and the darkness spread rapidly.

Teddie's nose twitched. His large eyes glimmered in the faint light. "There's medicine. I can smell it."

I hesitated. "And Yosuke?"

A beat.

"I can smell him, too."

Naoto started speaking; I cut him off. "Which is closer?"

Teddie's face screwed up. He said, "The medicine. I… I don't think the shadows want to hurt him, yet. They're hanging back for some reason. Waiting. They're more interested in you two."

"Don't—."

"How useful is the medicine here?" Even as I questioned Teddie, I made a decision and prayed Yosuke could handle himself in the meantime.

"I… I don't know what you're asking," Teddie said, clearly confused. "But it'll heal him."

"Okay, go find it."

" _No_." Naoto struggled vainly for a moment before slumping back down.

Teddie hesitated and then nodded. He started moving away, but I grabbed him.

"Listen to me. Teddie. If you run, we die. We're counting on you. Please." I looked him in the eye, mimicking Naoto's posture from earlier. "Promise me."

"... T-Teddie promises."

I believed him. I didn't have any other choice.

He left.

"You fool," Naoto said, quietly.

I ignored him, setting about barricading the room with barrels. For a time, grunts, heavy breathing, and wood sliding against wood filled the silence. Upon finishing, I turned and faced Naoto.

"Let me see your injury."

" _No_." Suddenly his voice went up an entire octave. Naoto pressed against the wall, as far away from me as possible, his expression full-fledged panic. I started, surprised, and then recovered.

"Don't be stubborn. I need you good to go if we're to get out of this. I knew a doctor back in the city… it's not much, but it's all we've got, right now." I stepped toward him.

Naoto raised his gun and pointed it at me.

I froze.

His arm was shaking. The left one. His non-dominant hand, from what I could tell. Blood glinted off the pistol handle.

"Stay away from me," Naoto bit out.

I slowly raised my arms. "Hey, hey. Easy, there. Let's not do anything rash. We're on the same side."

"Are we?" he asked.

Five times. Five times, now, I've been accused of a crime I didn't commit.

"Yeah. We are. They were after me just as much as you. If I really wanted to screw you over, I can't help but think there are ways less likely to put my own life in danger. You're not thinking clearly right now. You're injured, and this place messes with your head."

"... You're a delinquent."

I hesitated.

"Yeah. I am. I had my first taste of alcohol when I was six. I stole my first candy bar when I was seven. I've lied. I've cheated. I've gotten into fights. But I've never… hurt anyone. Not like that. I'm not a murderer. I'm not a, a…" I couldn't say it. "That motherfucker Masayoshi Shido set me up."

"I know him. His reputation, anyway." Naoto grimaced. His gun lowered, slightly. "It's why I gave you the benefit of the doubt. But perhaps that was a mistake."

He raised it again.

I swallowed. Sweat trickled down my temple.

"Look, I get it. You're scared. I'm scared, too." I stared down the barrel of the gun. "Spent more of my life afraid than not, probably. But I swear I'm just… I'm just trying to make things right.

"I have a particular talent for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that doesn't stop me from… trying. I want to help you. Please. Let me help. Blue, if we're to have any chance of getting out of this alive, we need to work together. You can trust me, I promise."

The silence was agonizing. At last Naoto set his gun aside.

"I'm not one for juvenile nicknames," he said.

"Right. Sure. Naoto."

I could've sobbed with relief. He watched me approach, a flush creeping up his neck. I knelt beside him.

"I think it bit me," Naoto mumbled, suddenly unable to meet my gaze.

Almost the entire right side of his jacket was dark and damp with blood. I gingerly helped him peel it off. So many damn buttons, and then like five billion fucking layers beneath, who the hell designed this thing and did this guy have lizard blood—?

_Oh, Christ._

Now I was the one blushing. I averted my eyes. "Uh, right. Well, um, I don't know shit about bite marks. But… I guess… we'll—should I look around for bandages?"

"In a liquor store?" she asked, a slight quaver to her voice.

That helped me realize something important.

"Well… you never know… it's a magical reverse world liquor store, after all... fuck, okay, here…"

First, I went and grabbed a bottle of brandy. I wrenched the cork off before hunching beside Naoto. The bite was ugly. Although it was more like a strange bruise that oozed blood, more black than red, running along the length of her arm.

An effect of the shadow (Teddie had called them shadows, right?), perhaps? I didn't know. My medical knowledge was already rudimentary at best and definitely didn't take supernatural creatures into account. I must've skipped that lesson. Although Takemi and I never talked much anyway.

"Ready?" I asked.

She grabbed my arm in response and braced herself. I poured the brandy out, washing the wound clean. Her nails dug into my bicep and her back arched. But Naoto gritted her teeth and didn't utter a word. Tough little shit.

Then I tore off strips of my own shirt and bound the wound as best I could. An awkward silence descended between us. I had no idea what to say.

"I would rather you keep that to yourself," Naoto said softly. 

Where was Teddie? Seriously, where the hell was he, so he could save me from this situation? Had he abandoned us? I fidgeted.

"Sure, no problem."

Time passed. It was impossible to tell how much, although it felt unending. Still no Teddie.

Voices occasionally came from out of nowhere. One sounded like Saki Konishi, and others sounded like family members and neighbors. They went around and around, nipping at each other, alternating between despair and rage.

Had these been Saki Konishi's final thoughts before she died? When I mentioned it to Naoto, she wondered if this false liquor store had fabricated the voices to torment Saki Konishi. Brilliant. Thanks for that.

I took a swig of the brandy, then.

"We're underage." Naoto was white as a sheet.

I didn't dignify that with a response. It was some of the best brandy I'd ever tasted. Crisp and sweet, like flowers and dried apple slices. I offered her a drink.

Naoto hesitated.

"Liquid courage," I said.

She drank, awkward because she could only use one hand, and immediately started coughing. I laughed. She frowned and handed it back.

"Don't get drunk. I'm not carrying you out of here."

I grinned and sipped lightly, waiting for either salvation or death. Something occurred to me.

"What were you even doing with Yosuke and Chie in the electronic section?"

Naoto stared at me, uncomprehending, before epiphany dawned in her pale eyes. She looked rather embarrassed.

"Well, I'd wanted to question Hanamura-san about Saki Konishi. She worked there, and he was apparently quite close to her. I'd visited her home and found she disappeared, so I'd been asking around. Hanamura-san didn't know much, but afterward, he'd started talking with his friend about buying a flat-screen television. And they… uh… something about the way they acted together was… nice. Amusing?" Naoto hesitated. "Regardless, I accompanied them to see the selection as well, but really it was just an excuse to be around them a little longer."

I blinked. "Huh. You know, for a cop who just held me at gunpoint, you're not too bad."

Naoto frowned. "I'm a detective, not a police officer."

"If it walks like a pig and acts like a pig..." I smirked, and her frown deepened. 

"Sensei?" called a voice from beyond the barricade, ending our conversation there.

It took a moment to register. Sensei? Oh, whatever. I scrambled to my feet.

"The hell took you so long?" I whispered.

"Grr, you try sneaking around with shadows lurking about and see how fast you move!" Teddie whispered back, heatedly.

"Okay, fair point. You have the medicine?" I asked. He confirmed that he had it. "Great. Thanks, Teddie. Uh, can you wait out there a moment?"

"What? Why?"

"Uh… Naoto's self-conscious about his scrawny figure." I could feel her glower burning into my neck. "He doesn't want you to see him like this."

A pause. And then a bead rolled through a gap in the barricade. It gleamed amber, cool to the touch.

"Okay, but hurry. The shadows are lurking around in the corridor, and they're making me nervous!"

"Are you in danger?" I asked, handling the bead, slightly bemused. How was this medicine? Still, I'd quickly learned not to question this place. 

"I don't think so. They're just… waiting."

Great.

"And Yosuke?" Naoto called out.

"He's still safe. But the shadows are getting restless."

I swallowed and then turned toward Naoto. The bead glowed as I approached her. She watched it, a bit wary, but said nothing.

Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but suddenly I felt a lot more confident. Those shadows no longer had the element of surprise. And _I_ had a golf club.

The bead shattered over Naoto. Bright light gathered around her arm before dissipating. She moved it, cautious at first, and then vigorously, before donning her clothes once more. Her eyes brightened, and color returned to her cheeks.

"Let's be off." Naoto stood, still rotating her shoulder, experimenting with it. That bead was one hell of a drug. I wondered what Takemi would've thought of it.

"We've got this," I said.

"I suppose I owe you the benefit of the doubt at least." She frowned, readying her pistol with a loud click.

At the top of the barricade, a shadow watched me. It was familiar. Not malevolent. Flickering, shifting, amorphous. It regarded me with bright red eyes.

_"I am thou. Thou art I. The time has come… open thine eyes… call forth thy true self..."_

"Hell yeah."

I just rolled with it, because why the fuck not, and leaped over the barricade, an acrobatic pirouette. Look good, feel good. Sprinting forward, I ignored both Naoto and Teddie's shocked cries. For some reason, at that moment, I believed I could move mountains. No more fighting losing battles. I played to win, baby.

Those ugly mouth monsters were waiting for us in the hallway. Maybe they knew we couldn't escape and were biding their time. Or they couldn't pass the threshold for some reason. I didn't know—didn't care.

They faced me. Strange, unnatural rumbles came from their grotesque mouths. I brandished my golf club and charged. Blue fire burned around me. I smirked.

" _Per-so-na_."


	3. Blind Leading the Blind

We tumbled out of the television.

I stood first. Naoto and Yosuke both still seemed woozy. Chie crouched before us, tears streaking her face, hands clutching the frayed, forlorn piece of rope.

What should I, could I, even say? Hey, we went into a world with monsters straight out of Freud's wet dreams, and Naoto almost shot me, and he was actually a she, and a weird thing called a Persona popped out of me, and Yosuke faced an evil version of himself, and it turned into a disco frogman that I beat over the head with a golf club?

Thankfully, Chie made it easy. As Yosuke stumbled to his feet, she hurled the rope at him. He fell back on his ass with a thump.

"Y-y-you guys _suck_ … I hate all of you!" She sniffled and then sprinted off.

Naoto, expression odd, watched Chie leave. Yosuke mussed his hair, grimacing. I held out a hand and hauled him up.

"I think… that might've sorta been our fault."

"Your fault," I said. "Don't pin this shit on me."

He snorted.

"Fair. I'll apologize tomorrow."

Naoto glanced at us. She'd been meticulously readjusting her coat. None of the blood from the other world was now on it. Well, that'd make dry cleaning less of a chore, at least. If only I could say the same about my ripped shirt. She tucked Teddie's glasses into a pocket and said, "Indeed. We should head home, and reconvene tomorrow after school finishes. I… want to sleep on today's events."

I was tired too. I hadn't gotten a good night's rest since arriving in Inaba.

"Yeah. I think… I'll sleep well tonight." Yosuke's face was softer than usual. Almost peaceful.

Why had his Persona's awakening been different from mine? It unsettled me. There wasn't much I could do about it, though, so I set it aside. I found I wasn't quite sure how to act around Yosuke—we'd seen an intimate part of him, and it felt… intrusive, almost.

We parted ways. Naoto walked alongside me. She seemed deep in thought, brim tilted low and brow drawn tight. I wasn't quite sure what to say, although 'stop following me' was high on the list. 

"I didn't expect Satonaka-san to be quite that upset," Naoto said out of nowhere.

I blinked. "Uh, well, we did vanish into a TV that can maybe kill people for an unknown length of time. She was probably worried."

Although the rain and generally miserable weather made it difficult to tell for sure, it felt late. I adjusted my umbrella. We snaked along the Samegawa floodplains; everything was grey and dreary.

"True. But such a response toward people she hardly knows… although she does seem close with Hanamura-san…" Naoto trailed off.

"Well, it's like when you help someone you don't know, yeah?" I suggested, rather warily. 

"Because it's my job." She sighed. "Even then, I would never overreact in such an emotional fashion. It accomplishes nothing."

Okay, I was  _not_ about to play therapist with boy-girl wunderkid. I didn't sign up for any of this shit, but I most definitely didn't sign up for  _that_. Besides, I hadn't forgotten she'd threatened to  _shoot_  me. Even given the extenuating circumstances, that left an impression.

"Are we going to ignore the elephant in the room?" I asked, changing the subject.

Naoto hesitated, appearing discomfited. "If you're referring to the truth about my gender, there's not much to say. I've found people are more apt to take me seriously if they believe I'm male. I would prefer you keep it to yourself, but if you believe you can use it against me—."

"Shit, think you missed your calling as a criminal mastermind." I was offended. "Like I said before, I'll keep your secret if that's what you want. It's no skin off my nose."

"... Thank you." Naoto looked relieved. "And thank you for… your assistance within the television. I doubt I would've made it out alive alone."

I wasn't quite sure how to handle gratitude from someone like her, so I kept quiet.

Underneath the pavilion, a few feet ahead, a girl wearing pale pink—a contrast with the muted surroundings—waited. She looked vaguely familiar. Naoto made an instant beeline for her, walking with great purpose. I contemplated escaping, but curiosity drove me forward.

"Yukiko Amagi?" Naoto asked. Her grey gaze shone with focused intensity.

Oh, right. Yukiko was in my class. She eyed Naoto nervously.

"... Can I help you?" Yukiko looked skittish and ready to bolt. Smart girl.

"Ignore him. He's my parole officer, but he likes to think he's the next Kogoro Akechi," I drawled, sprawling out alongside Yukiko. Naoto shot me a withering stare, and I raised an eyebrow at her. Her expression shifted, and she seemed to understand.

"Apologies. I didn't mean to disturb you." Naoto took a step back. Now Yukiko looked confused.

"Oh… it's no problem…" she said. Yukiko watched me. Her posture was almost as stiff and formal as Naoto's, but Naoto's was born out of confidence while Yukiko's was defensive. "You're the new transfer student? Sorry I haven't been around much."

"Yeah. Chie mentioned you." A shot in the dark going off vague memories from my first day, but I found my mark. Yukiko relaxed.

"She mentioned you, too, last night. Chie's very supportive, you know. She always sees the good in people. Although…" Yukiko looked me up and down, glanced at Naoto, and then fixated on me again. I'd learned the value of keeping silent and simply listening during my time with Takemi. "You know, you don't look like a bad person."

Well, yeah. It was easier to duck the law if I fit the mold of a stereotypical high school kid. I'd realized that early on, and avoided tattoos, piercings, and leather like the plague. The last one hurt a bit, but up until the run-in with Shido, my policy had served me well.

"I'm a work in progress," I said. "It's why I came here."

Naoto made a strange face.

"I see," Yukiko said. "Do you like it here?"

Hell no. Inaba was too small, too cramped, everyone knew everyone else, and everyone knew me, while I didn't know any of them. Plus I half-suspected they lined the pipes with lead given how fucking crazy all my teachers were. That or inbreeding. King Moron was definitely a prime candidate for inbreeding.

"'S all right," I said.

"Really? It must be difficult, moving to a new place you know nothing about." Yukiko turned wistful. "I've never been outside Inaba, though, so I guess I can't relate."

"Well, you're not missing much," I said, in an effort to placate her. She looked gloomy. Then Yukiko stood.

"I should get going. I need to make arrangements with our head chef for tomorrow." She hesitated. "The inn needs me right now."

Yukiko left. Rain pattered onto the pavilion and dripped off the ledge.

"The Amagi Inn was where Mayumi Yamano was staying." Naoto broke the silence, an edge underlining her words. "I wanted to question her."

Ah, that explained it. "She's probably already been asked a bunch of questions, then. You wouldn't have gotten much. You were making her nervous."

"She shouldn't be nervous if she has nothing to hide," Naoto said, frowning. I rolled my eyes. "Also, you read detective novels?"

That caught me off guard. I coughed. "A few here and there. Nothing crazy."

Naoto didn't respond. We continued our walk. When I finally caved and asked why she was still following me, she explained that she wanted to see where I lived. Great.

"I also require your phone number," Naoto said.

"Damn, at least buy me dinner first."

She reddened slightly but otherwise focused on pulling out her cell. Naoto fixed me with a stern look. I gave in, rattling off my number, theatrically sighing all the while.

We arrived at my home. Well, 'home' might be a stretch. It was a place to stay, not a home. Although I hadn't truly felt at home anywhere for a long time.

"This is the Dojima residence?" Naoto asked. I nodded. "Dojima-san has a good reputation in the force."

"He's okay," I said. "For a cop."

Naoto frowned at me. She did that a lot, I noticed. The dark bags under her eyes became more prominent, just then.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Amamiya-san. The rain should go all night, so we can investigate the Midnight Channel tonight. There may be a relation to the television world."

Nodding, I said, "Later, Blue."

Ignoring her obvious displeasure, I turned and went inside without another word. Slamming the door shut in Naoto's face felt amazingly cathartic.

…

Yukiko was on the news that night. She'd taken over the inn in the wake of her mother's apparent collapse. The reporter's mannerisms only strengthened my lead-poisoning/inbreeding theory. They also went over Saki Konishi's death.

Dojima would be out late working, so I helped Nanako wash dishes. Such a young kid, forced to act so mature. It bothered me. It also reminded me of Naoto, oddly enough. But Nanako was my cute younger cousin and hadn't threatened to shoot me yet, so she was much higher up in my current estimation.

I splashed some soapy bubbles in her direction. Nanako giggled and splashed me back. It was a quiet but furious war, and I took no prisoners. We then cleaned out the fridge before I put her to bed.

"Thanks for trying to go out and buy food. Sorry you fainted," Nanko said as I tucked her in.

"Hey, it's no problem. You shouldn't have to do that stuff anyway."

"I don't mind, I love Junes!" She smiled. I laughed and shook my head. Weird kid.

"We can go together next time."

Her face lit up. Maybe I wasn't a terrible person after all. 

I stayed awake late in my room, waiting for the Midnight Channel to come on. Getting up for school in the morning would be a bitch, but I'd deal with it. A new image appeared, too blurry and out of focus to discern the identity.

When I touched the image on the television screen, nothing much happened outside of the usual. That I already referred to sticking my hand inside a TV as 'usual' concerned me, but such was my life right now.

I had another dream about the blue room within the limo. The Velvet Room, as Igor called it. Seated beside Margaret was Izanagi. His sword rested on his knees, and he stared at me, silent and unreadable.

"Your trenchcoat is rad, by the way," I said. He didn't respond.

"It appears we meet again." Igor chuckled. Suddenly I was deeply suspicious of them.

"Do you know what's going on? Do you know who killed Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi?" I asked.

"We do not." Now Margaret spoke. "We are here to assist you in solving the matter and facilitate the waking of your glorious power."

… Glorious? Well, it was pretty cool, I guess.

Igor gave me a key. Large, smooth, and heavy, it felt far more substantial and real than anything else in this strange place.

"From this night forth, you're a guest of this Velvet Room. Your destiny will require you to hone your power, and for that, you will inevitably require our help. There is but one price for this assistance..." Igor said.

Ah, a catch. Of course.

He continued, "You must abide by your contract and assume all responsibility for the choices you make."

Wait, that was it? Seriously? What did that even mean, exactly? What contract? When had we ever gone over any sort of terms? Talk about nebulous bullshit.

"Uh, sure." They were hiding something, I was sure of it.

Igor nodded, apparently satisfied. "The Persona you acquired… it is a side of you that you show when you face the world."

I glanced at Izanagi. While I did, in fact, have an undying love for trenchcoats and leather, that wasn't exactly something I was keen on showing the world. But I listened anyway because even if I didn't trust Igor, he seemed to know quite a bit.

"Perhaps you can think of it as… a facade you wear to face various difficulties in life."

Like gross tongue monsters and giant frogmen, got it.

"You are very special compared to the others, that of a wild card. You're like the number zero… empty, yet holding infinite potential."

Empty? I didn't like the sound of that.

"Where will your awakened power of the wild card take you…?" Igor mused out loud. "I look forward to traveling the road of your destiny together."

Oh, god. I just got goosebumps from the creepiness.

"Wait—."

I woke up with a start, bathed in a cold sweat. In bed with me lay a large, smooth, heavy key.

…

After school, we found Naoto lurking about the entrance.

"Greetings. I assume you watched the Midnight Channel?" she asked.

"Yeah, Chie's pretty sure it's Yukiko Amagi. But we called, and she's working at the inn right now. We're heading over to Junes to double-check with Teddie," I said.

Chie bounced up and down, face twisted with worry. Naoto seemed taken aback.

"Oh. You… discussed it at school. Yes. That's sensible," she said strangely.

"Sure. We're all in the same class anyway," I said.

"How convenient." Her tone was rather cold. Shit, what'd we do wrong this time?

"Sheesh, less talking more walking!" Chie interrupted us. "I want to make sure Yukiko's okay."

Naoto hesitated before fiddling with her cap. "Of course. I couldn't quite tell who the image was, but I had a theory myself that it was Amagi-san."

We walked along the path. Yosuke would nip ahead on his bike and double back. I was half-convinced the rickety thing would fall apart any time he made a turn.

"And why's that?" I stifled a yawn. Staying awake during school had taken a lot of willpower on my part.

"I need more evidence before I draw a formal conclusion," Naoto said.

Damn, she was annoying.

We filled in Chie fully on the way there. I wasn't sure she would've believed us if not for my gymnastics out of the television, and the fact that Naoto seemed physically incapable of lying about anything even half as outrageous, but Chie's expression was still doubtful.

She became far less doubtful when we somehow communed with Teddie through the television. He also  _bit me_. Rude, and so fucking bizarre. 

Afterward, Naoto bought us all dinner. We sat around at the Junes food court.

"Ha, I could get used to this. Now Chie has a new source of income to leech off of." Yosuke relaxed back in his seat.

"Wha—shut up, Yosuke! I wouldn't do that to Nao-Kun." She glared at him, piece of steak speared on a fork, hovering near her mouth.

Naoto fidgeted, own food untouched. "No nicknames please. And I don't mind."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. So what now? If the Midnight Channel isn't a sign that they're in the television, then we're back to square one," Yosuke said.

I just focused on eating, quiet and methodical. My hand hurt.

"I mean… we don't know for sure that they're related, right? It could be one big coincidence." Chie's face scrunched up.

"It's difficult to know for certain. We don't have much data to go on." Naoto rubbed her chin. "Perhaps we should inform the police about our findings."

"Hell no." I glanced up, frowning. "They wouldn't believe us, for one. For another, I'm not putting myself back in their crosshairs."

"If you showed your uncle what you showed me, he would believe you," Naoto said quietly.

"And then what? I get incarcerated? Or worse, treated like a freak? No. I won't do it."

"And if someone gets hurt?" A clear challenge glinted in her grey eyes.

"No one will get hurt. Not through that weird television world, anyway. Yosuke and I'll save them."

"I'm with Ren." Yosuke straightened. "Besides, we made a promise to Teddie."

Naoto didn't respond right away. She mulled over our words.

"You're playing a dangerous game, Amamiya-san."

I hesitated. Once again, I thought of how I'd been in that world, and how, when Teddie mentioned people being thrown in, I'd been too concerned with escaping to think it through. And if we messed up, or were off the pace in some fashion? If another person died in there?

I didn't know if I could live with that. The knowledge that I wasn't _that_ sort of person was one of the few comforts I had left.

Yosuke and Chie were silent, watching both of us intently.

"We're not even sure if anyone else is going to be targeted," I said at last. "I… let's hold off for now, at least. If it's the best option, I'll think about it."

"Very well. I suppose it's a moot point without either you or Hanamura-san's cooperation anyway." Naoto leaned back, staring at some unseen horizon.

"Y'know, speaking of which, it's kinda weird that me and Ren got a Persona, but you didn't," Yosuke said.

Naoto scowled. "That's something I've pondered myself. It's a rather inconvenient limitation. I did some research, and Persona is a psychological term that involves masks to hide behind. Although it seems to take on a slightly different meaning in that other world."

"Maybe you just have nothing to hide," I said snidely.

If looks could kill, I'd have died rather painfully at that moment. Still, it was good to know I could get under Naoto's skin. Pissing off law enforcement was me in my natural element. I felt vindicated.

"Huh. Does that mean Ren-Kun has nothing to hide, either?" The subtext of my remark had flown clear over Chie's head.

"Indeed, it's interesting that your awakening  _was_ different from Hanamura-san's," Naoto said through gritted teeth. "Teddie also implied that what happened was not normal."

"I'm like the number zero, Blue," I told her. Naoto glared while Yosuke laughed.

"That's our leader!" He winked at me, and I smirked back. A hint of a flush crept up Naoto's neck, but she remained calm.

"Regardless, it's simply another question without an answer. We should reconvene tomorrow, perhaps in the television world, and see what we can find. I've also looked into booking check-ups for everyone at the hospital. We should ensure there are no adverse side effects to entering that place," Naoto said.

"Get me checked out for rabies while you're at it." I'd finished eating, and took that as my cue to leave. "Anyway, later."

"And I'll make sure to check up on Yukiko!" Chie said, pounding a fist on the table. "If she's not at school Monday I might even skip—err, I'll make sure she comes!"

She shot Naoto a worried look, but Naoto appeared lost in a world all her own.

We split up. Except for Naoto. Once again, she walked home with me.

"What happened to 'reconvene tomorrow'?" I complained. Just being around her put me seriously on edge. I half-expected to get shoved up against a cop car and arrested at any second.

Naoto jolted out of her reverie.

"I wanted to talk about the case some more," she said. I stopped. Naoto stopped, too.

"What else is there to say? All our leads are dead right now, with Yukiko being fine and all."

"I find bouncing ideas off others to be helpful. And besides, you seem to be viewed as the de facto leader, at least for the moment. It makes sense to run them by you." She still looked a bit irate.

Christ.

"Okay, let's make something clear here. I'm not the Watson to your Sherlock. I'm not your sponsor, confidante, sidekick, whatever. I'm like… I dunno, Black Condor. A wild card, or something." Dammit, why couldn't I get Igor's stupid, creepy voice out of my head?

"You're making fun of me, aren't you?" Naoto frowned.

"No. Well, okay, maybe a little. Look, the point is, I'm not your friend. Go bug Yosuke about it instead, and leave me alone." 

Naoto glanced down at her shiny, brand new shoes. Once again, I was reminded of Nanako, and suddenly, I felt like a major asshole. I opened my mouth to try and salvage the situation, but she beat me to the punch.

"You're right. I apologize for misinterpreting our relationship. I'll only contact you if a new lead surfaces. Don't forget to watch the Midnight Channel tonight."

She left, then, before I could get a word in edgewise. 

...

I sat on the couch, waiting for the Midnight Channel to come on, stewing in silence. My phone lay across from me, atop the coffee table. I couldn't believe I was seriously contemplating calling up a detective to apologize. All my street cred back in the city would be gone if any of my old mates ever found out.

Still, even if Naoto was the textbook definition of 'stick in the mud,' she was intelligent, reasonable, and willing to work with me, instead of turning me in. I had to respect that, albeit grudgingly.

And yet I continued to stare at my flip phone.

Maybe none of this would even be necessary. The Midnight Channel would show Yukiko's silhouette, she'd be at the inn again, and then at school on Monday, and everything would slowly go back to normal. Maybe the killer was done.

Although would that mean they'd never be caught? To murder someone via the television world, it seemed… borderline untraceable. I ran my fingers through my hair, distressed by the thought that they'd get away with it.

Or perhaps leave Inaba and commit similar crimes elsewhere. Who could really say? At that point, could  _anyone_ stop them?

The Midnight Channel flickered to life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Being mean to Naoto hurts my fangirl heart. :(
> 
> I also spent a lot of time debating whether or not to give her her Persona right off the bat. Eventually, I concluded this was the best way to approach it, given everything we know about her as a character.


	4. Never Give Them Anything

My phone started ringing almost before Yukiko finished flouncing off the television screen. I picked it up, absentminded, caught between arousal and concern—not a fun mix.

"H-hey, did you see that?!" Yosuke.

"Uh, yeah."

We both went quiet. It was pretty awkward. Yosuke cleared his throat and said, "That had to be Yukiko-san! It looked like her, and I mean, she even said her name! But the stuff she was saying... and why did it look like she was on a low-budget TV show?"

Or the set of a porn studio. I didn't say that out loud, though.

"Dunno. Let's have Chie try and get in contact with Yukiko; we don't want another false alarm." Although something told me this was a different beast entirely from the vague silhouettes of previous Midnight Channels.

"Y-yeah, you're right. I'll get hold of her. Let's meet up at Junes early tomorrow morning."

"See you then."

I flipped my phone shut with a click. Staring at it for a long moment, I sighed, steeled myself, and dialed Naoto's number. She answered on the first ring.

"Hey, Blue."

"Amamiya-san."

"You saw everything?"

"Yes."

"Any thoughts?"

Nothing I can't share with Hanamura-san."

Ouch. I probably deserved that. Still a low blow, though, considering the current situation.

"We're meeting at the Junes food court early tomorrow morning."

"Understood."

She hung up.

...

There were certain things people never forget. Nanako, sitting at the dinner table, watching TV alone on a beautiful Sunday morning (after talking about doing laundry no less), was one such memory for me. I walked to Junes with heavy feet and a heavy heart.

No one else was there upon arrival. I bought a TaP soda and pulled up a chair. My thoughts circled around the mysterious deaths, around the peculiar television world, around the strange phenomenon called Persona, before inevitably returning to Nanako once more. I wish I'd stayed with her instead.

"Yo!"

I looked up, startled, as Yosuke approached. He had his hands behind his back and a mischievous expression on his face, setting off all sorts of alarm bells.

"Sorry for the holdup. I found some stuff we can use at home—take a look at these!"

He then whipped out a pair of honest-to-god  _swords_.

"Jesus Christ!" I stumbled out of my chair, scrambling backward. Yosuke didn't notice my dismay, proudly displaying his weapons of _death_ for anyone and everyone. A lady seated at the next table over turned and stared at us.

"We've got our Personas, but a golf club's not that reliable of a weapon."

Speak for yourself.

Yosuke continued, "So, which one strikes your fancy?"

"Neither, you fucking retard, I'm on probation," I snarled. "Are you trying to paint a bullseye on the back of my head?"

Yosuke looked hurt, lowering the swords a bit. Then he brightened. "Well, maybe both for me would be good, too."

He began waving the swords around like an absolute lunatic.

We were so screwed. We might as well sign Yukiko's death sentence for her. Naoto was right, and I should turn myself in now because we're well and truly _fucked—_.

"What's going on here?" The patrolman approached. Oh my fucking god, no. Why me? I hunkered down in hopes of vanishing into the floor.

Yosuke spun around, tucking the swords behind his back like a furtive child caught stealing from a cookie jar (of _death)._ He said _,_ "Ohhhh crap. Uh, this isn't what it looks like! We didn't steal this stuff or anything—although I guess that's not what matters. We're just two kids who like weapons! Wait..."

Yosuke, _stop talking_.

"That's enough. You can explain your story at the station. And hands where I can see them—."

"I'll take care of this, officer."

Never before had I been so glad to hear Naoto's clipped, uptight voice. I sagged, almost falling over with relief. The patrolman turned and caught sight of her. He pulled a face as if he'd just stepped in something unpleasant.

"Shirogane. This is our jurisdiction." On cue, several more patrolmen appeared (they're like flies to carrion I swear), eyeing Yosuke warily.

Naoto gestured, walking a few feet away, and the guards exchanged glances. After a moment, expression irate, the original patrolman joined her, shortly followed by his compatriots. They talked in a low undertone for several minutes.

Yosuke just stood there, pale, still clutching the swords behind his back. I realized, then, that he'd probably never dealt with law enforcement in this capacity before. Empathy flickered through me.

"Hey. Word of advice," I said. He blinked. "Never give them anything that they can use against you, because they will."

"Wha—?"

"Give me those," Naoto said, taking the swords from Yosuke. He released them without complaint. "Let's leave."

Her face was blank and unreadable. The police officers remained huddled a few paces back, expressions decidedly sour.

I grabbed Yosuke by the arm and dragged him away, following Naoto without a word of protest. A few strides later, out of earshot, and she glared daggers at us. "Are you both imbeciles?"

"We're sorry..." Yosuke looked contrite. Before I could explain that there was no 'we,' and only one imbecile, Naoto cleared her throat.

"I stopped by the police station. Amagi-san has been reported missing since yesterday evening; most think she's run away from home, but there are some..." She hesitated. "Some believe she may be a suspect."

"What?" Yosuke and I spoke at the same time. Naoto shifted, holding the swords awkwardly in her tiny hands.

"Indeed. The Amagi Inn has been going through rough times, and apparently, Mayumi Yamano had issues with the service. The manager, Yukiko Amagi's mother, even collapsed from the stress of the situation. It's a fairly tenuous lead, but right now the police are looking at anything even a little conspicuous."

Naoto emphasized 'conspicuous' with a slight gesture of the swords, shooting me a flat, pointed stare. Oh, take a long walk off a short pier already.

"Then... she really is..." Yosuke missed the microaggression completely. "Damn, Chie's going to _flip_ when she finds out they think Yukiko-san's a suspect."

We exited Junes and followed Naoto down the street. Although not as familiar with the area yet as I'd like, I soon recognized the shopping district. After what happened in the television world, I probably wouldn't ever forget it.

"Where is Chie, anyway?" I asked.

"Pretty sure she went to the Amagi Inn to check on Yukiko-san." Yosuke shrugged.

"Call her and let her know we're at Daidara's Metalworks shop," Naoto said. We both stared at her, open-mouthed. "If we're going to pick up weapons, there's no better place."

Neither of us replied. After a long, pregnant pause, Yosuke called Chie. No answer—he left a message on her voicemail.

Daidara's Metalworks looked like a LARPer's paradise. Dimly lit, an assortment of weapons and armor lined the store walls. The owner was a burly man who, judging by his scars, entered the television world and wrestled with shadows for fun.

"I don't sell to kids." His voice was low and grave. Then he noticed Naoto and smiled, somehow looking more terrifying in the process. "Oh, Shirogane. How's your old man?"

"He's doing well," she said like it was normal. Naoto handed him the swords. "Can you look these over for me?"

Daidara glanced at the weapons and made a low noise in the back of his throat. "Tch. Amateur hour."

"Hey! Those belong to my... uh... nevermind." Yosuke quailed under Daidara's flat stare.

"We can trade. I'll show you real art. And tell your old man to stop by when he's free, he owes me a drink."

"Deal. Why don't you two wait outside?" Naoto suggested; she seemed weirdly comfortable, and it freaked me out. How was any of this legal?

"Wait, could you get us guns?" Yosuke asked, eyes lighting up.

"No." Naoto and I spoke simultaneously and then glared at each other. Yosuke deflated. I clapped him on the shoulder and said, "C'mon, Yosuke. Let the grown-ups do the talking."

Naoto rolled her eyes.

Outside, breathing felt more natural. All those weapons surrounding me... I didn't like it one bit. Couldn't I stick with the golf club and Izanagi?

Yosuke stood with his hands in his jacket pockets, deep in thought. "Hey. Sorry I almost got you in big trouble. Guess I just wasn't thinking."

"It's cool," I said after a split second hesitation. "All worked out in the end. But, uh, maybe run stunts like that with me beforehand next time, yeah?"

"Yeah. Deal, partner." Yosuke grinned and winked at me. I smiled back.

Then the blue door appeared, and everything else faded away.

...

Every time I left the Velvet Room, I had more questions than when I'd entered. A light touch on my shoulder brought me out of my reverie. Yosuke was looking at me, expression puzzled, saying something I couldn't quite understand.

"Sorry?" I asked.

"You okay, dude? You zoned out there."

"Oh, uh, just—."

"There you are!" Chie barrelled down the street, distracting us both from the awkward situation. "Sheesh, what're you guys doing?! I've been looking all over for you!"

"Well, um, you see, there was a slight misunderstanding." Yosuke grimaced and pressed his hand against his forehead. "I'll tell you about it later. Right now, Yukiko-san's in trouble."

Chie gasped. "Huh? You know already?!"

We filled her in on everything Naoto had told us.

"What? They think Yukiko did it? What the hell is wrong with them?!" Chie turned scarlet.

"Dude, don't snap me!" Yosuke reddened as well. "Yukiko's the victim here, dammit."

They both seemed agitated.

"That's why we're going to save her," I said. They glanced over at me.

"Indeed." Naoto stepped out of the shop, carrying several packages.

"N-Naoto-kun!" Chie stepped back. Then she shook her head. "You're right. I'm coming too."

Yosuke bit his lip. "Are you going to be all right...? Naoto at least has a gun, what are you going to do?"

I stayed quiet, watching them talk. While Yosuke made sense, something held me back from agreeing with him. And judging by Chie's stubborn expression, convincing her to relent wouldn't be easy regardless.

"I'm going to save Yukiko no matter what!" she declared. "Yukiko needs me—I can't abandon her down there. She must be so scared..."

"I understand how you feel, Satonaka-san—." Naoto began.

"You don't!" Chie spun around, scowling. "You don't know shit about how I feel. Yukiko might die from this, for crying out loud!"

Her eyes were wet now. She jutted out her chin, meeting Naoto's gaze head-on. After a split second Naoto looked away, clearly uncomfortable.

"Oh, what the hell," I said. "You can come."

"Really?" Chie blinked. Then she laughed, borderline hysterical. "I mean, yeah! My reflexes are second to none! Hiyah!"

Mistakes may have been made. I ignored Naoto's glower, although Yosuke didn't look happy either.

"Seriously? This isn't a joke," he said. "You don't know what it's like down there."

"Neither did you," I said. "But you still went for Saki Konishi's sake, right?"

He bit his lip. After a moment Yosuke sighed and said, "Well, we're definitely going to need protection, then. What you got, Naoto?"

She hesitated. Then Naoto knelt and laid out the packages before us. "This is a hunting nata; it isn't all that sharp, but..."

...

I felt uncomfortable holding the imitation katana; I _really_ missed the golf club. We took the plunge once the Junes sales period ended, and most customers had cleared out.

Teddie waited for us in the same spot we'd left him. He stood huddled in a corner, enormous head in hands.

"Whoa, it's that bear," Chie said.

"Oh yeah, the one that _bit me_." I stuck my finger out for emphasis. The battle wound no longer remained, but who knew when the emotional scars would heal.

"T-that was you, sensei?!" Teddie perked upright. "I didn't realize! I thought it was _Yosuke._ "

"Wha—."

"You made me cry," I said.

"Can we please focus." Naoto cut off Teddie's response.

"Yeah, shut up, guys! Now's not the time for stupid jokes!" Chie frowned. "But, wait, isn't that a zipper? That's not a bear, that's a bear costume."

"Oh, huh." Yosuke stepped forward. "You're right. You know, you're pretty suspicious."

Teddie's stricken expression changed to one of alarm. I frowned and said, "Hey—."

Jesus _fucking_ Christ.

Without any preamble, Yosuke ripped off Teddie's head—and there was _nothing_ inside the suit. Chie and Yosuke shouted while Naoto and I exchanged wide-eyed stares. For once we were entirely on the same page.

Teddie flailed around, searching for his head, and then popped it back on. He straightened and said, "Hmph. How rude!"

We all gaped at him.

Chie straightened, recovering first. "Forget this! Listen, err, Teddie... someone came here yesterday, right?"

"Wow! There's a girl with a better nose than me?!" Teddie looked shocked. His ears twitched. "What's your name, miss?"

"Miss?" Chie sheepishly scratched the back of her head. "I'm Chie. But nevermind that! Tell me more about this 'someone'!"

He waved his paws around. "I think it happened a little after I talked with you all. After that, it felt like someone was here."

I rubbed my finger.

"Could you lead us to them again like you did last time?" Naoto asked, interrupting Yosuke. Teddie nodded.

"Sure. The presence is over that way." He pointed. "That's probably where they are."

"Over there, huh? Then let's go!" Chie took off, forcing us to follow.

For someone who'd never been here before, she sure had acclimated fast. Then again, maybe her worry over Yukiko powered her through the fog and nausea. I couldn't help but respect Chie's drive.

"Amamiya-san."

I checked over my shoulder. Naoto fell in step with me. Eyes narrowed, she watched Chie slow down (realizing she had no idea where she was going no doubt) and let Teddie take point.

"Worried?" I asked.

"...Yes. You might need to keep her in check."

"Me?"

"You're the leader, after all." She stared straight ahead. 

"Oh for fuck—Naoto. Yosuke is the type of dumbass who whips out weapons in a public place. We all know who's actually in charge here."

Naoto stuck her hands in her pockets by way of an answer.

The castle was enormous, stretching both high and wide. Even with glasses, dense fog swirled around the structure. I had no idea how Chie could see anything (when I mentioned this problem to Teddie, he got angry for no reason and growled about how he was working on it and perfection couldn't be rushed or something). Statues of dogs lined the entrance, muzzles twisted in either agony or rage—or both.

At least the false liquor store was rooted in reality; nothing like this castle existed in Inaba. Creepy. I rubbed my arms to try and hold back the goosebumps.

"Y'think this is the place they showed on TV?" Chie squinted, mopping sweat off her forehead. What else could it be? Unless weirdly sexual castles were a dime a dozen down here.

Yosuke faced Teddie. "Are you sure there's no, like, cameraman behind that bizarre midnight program?"

What?

Teddie's expression mirrored my feelings. He blinked and said, "Program...? I don't know. Maybe people on your side can see stuff in this world. It might be that."

Haven't we already established this? Naoto also looked impatient, arms folded, tapping a foot on the ground while staring at the castle.

"And I told you before! There's only me and the shadows here! There's no 'camera' stuff going on. It's been like this from the beginning."

"But when the Midnight Channel first showed Yukiko she wasn't in the television world yet. So it can't always be broadcasting what's happening here... right?" Chie asked. That caught Naoto's attention. "And I mean, Yukiko saying stuff like, 'score myself a hot stud'? That's not like her at all."

Teddie mouthed the phrase, 'score a hot stud,' eyes the size of dinner plates.

"Well, that's probably her shadow," I said. Now everyone focused on me.

"No way, are you saying that's how she really feels?" Yosuke looked a touch too excited. Settle down, Romeo. And quite frankly, none of this mattered right now. We had more important things to worry about than figure out why this weird-ass world existed with all its bizarre rules.

"I dunno, was that how _you_ really felt?" I asked. He hesitated.

"This world is reality for those inside it. That's what you said before, correct?" Naoto's question held a slight edge.

"There's a lot of stuff I still don't get. But after hearing your story... yeah, the program-thingy might be picking up on the reality of the people trapped here and showing it in your world."

Had that happened with Saki Konishi? I couldn't remember: Izanagi had damn near split my head open with his 'I am thou' stuff, and then I'd hit my head on the coffee table.

"So Yukiko might be broadcasting everything herself somehow?" Chie frowned. "Do you feel her presence inside, Teddie?"

"I'm pretty sure." He nodded.

"And is she in danger from the shadows?" Naoto asked. Teddie shook his head.

"Nope. They only get angry when they're around people like Sensei or Yosuke—or when the fog goes away. Otherwise, they don't want anything to do with normal people."

"Wait, then why did they attack us before?" I demanded, suddenly aggrieved and also suspicious.

"I'm not sure. But I think they sensed you were special, Sensei."

Man, what bullshit. And this sensei nonsense needed to stop.

"And the fog only goes away when it's foggy in our world..." Naoto's musings distracted me.

"Yeah, I think that's how it works," Teddie said.

"Think?" I didn't like the direction this conversation was taking.

"So we can leave for a while, and Amagi-san will be safe until fog covers Inaba—."

"We're not doing that," I said flatly. A pin could've been dropped in the following silence. Naoto seemed taken aback, but then she straightened.

"A retreat might turn out to be the most sensible course of action. And if we fail, there will be no one else to step up and rescue Amagai-san." Her expression was so smug—as if she'd stated the most airtight, obviously logical solution in the world, and it immediately set my blood boiling.

"You must be joking. You want to risk Yukiko's life over some vague rule about a world we barely understand—a rule told to us by a _fucking bear_ who barely knows how this place works despite living here for god knows long? What if he's wrong? What then?

"And even if he's right, we're seriously making bets on the _weather_? The weatherman can't even predict the weather correctly half the goddamn time! In fact, I'm pretty sure they just take a fucking dart and throw it at a board of percentages and hope for the fucking best!"

" _Calm down_." Naoto started turning red. "All I'm saying is that we may have some time, and if we do, we don't need to be rash. And you yourself said I'm the one in charge, and if I make the call for a retreat, I need to know you'll listen—."

"That was before I realized you were going to make stupid fucking suggestions like abandoning people in enormous castles with creepy-ass alter egos that hang their corpses from telephone poles! I'm not leaving that girl trapped in there under any circumstances. How would you've felt if I left you?"

"From the sounds of it, I would've been better off," Naoto said, monotone.

Never had I wanted to punch someone more than I wanted to punch her at that moment. Because she might be right, and I hated that—hated that others may've had been in danger because of me. I always hurt the people I cared about most.

"Screw this; I'm going on ahead!" Chie broke the silence and darted toward the castle.

"What the—you idiot!" Yosuke shouted.

Naoto started and moved forward, but I blocked the path. She bounced off my chest, stumbling back. Shock and then fury slid across Naoto's features in rapid succession. She grabbed her hat, throwing it on the ground, face now a deep, dark red.

"Goddammit, Ren, what is wrong with you?!"

"She'll be fine anyway, yeah?" I asked scathingly. Naoto looked like she wanted to deck me, too, then.

"Uh, guys?" Yosuke asked. "We better follow her, right?"

"Come if you want. Or don't. It's all the same to me." I turned and walked inside the castle without a backward glance.

...

"Hey, partner?" Yosuke asked, a bit timidly.

None of us had spoken for around an hour. Naoto hung back with Teddie, refusing to even look in my general direction. Fine by me.

The castle was huge, luxurious even. Rich red carpet decorated the marble floor. Massive windows filtered in dull yellow light, casting everything in a dreary, fog-tinged aura.

We fought off a few shadows. Yosuke and I adapted quickly, fending them off with the help of our Personas. They ignored Naoto and Teddie, focused on us. That proved Teddie right in at least one respect, a fact that made me all the angrier. I took out my aggression on said shadows—Izanagi responded as well—and all that crossed our path were handled without any problem.

"What." I kept my voice low.

"It's just... I think he has a point." Yosuke coughed. "If pulling back is what's safest for Yukiko-san, then maybe we should. We're no use to her dead."

I didn't answer. More time passed.

"Look, partner. You and Naoto... you guys know what's up _way_ more than me or Chie or maybe even Teddie do. This might be corny, but, you need to work together if we're going to save Yukiko-san and Chie. Please, Ren, look at me." Yosuke stopped, forcing me to stop as well. He bit his lip. "I know people like Shirogane aren't your favorite. He’s a bit of a weirdo and you’re afraid he'll take what you give him and use it against you. But... Chie is important to me. She was the first person willing to put up with my shit. I can't lose her too. Please. For her sake, for their sake, and mine as well."

"What's the hold-up?" Naoto asked Yosuke. She still refused to look at me. I suddenly felt deeply ashamed.

"Nothing. Let's go." But I nodded at Yosuke, and he nodded back.

...

Yosuke walked Chie home. She looked ready to collapse at any moment. We left our weapons in the television world with Teddie.

Outside Junes, it was dark. The streetlights flickered on. Naoto hadn't waited, forcing me to sprint after her.

"Hey," I said. She didn't slow down. "I'm sorry."

That gave Naoto pause. "What you did was reckless, Amamiya."

"I know."

"And stupid."

"I know."

"And completely undermined my authority."

"I know."

She frowned and then sighed. We walked together in silence, but it wasn't angry like before.

"I'm just... if we mess up, Yukiko pays the price," I said at last. "She's all alone and probably scared out of her mind right now. This isn’t a game with do-overs. I won't feel good until she's home safe."

"We'll save her, Ren," Naoto said after a brief hesitation.

"I know."

It was another lovely night out—no sign of fog. Cicadas chirped as we walked along the Samegawa floodplains.

"Chie and her shadow..." Naoto said out of nowhere, somewhat tentatively. "I understood where it was coming from."

"Yeah?"

"It's nice to be needed. If they need you they can’t get rid of you."

"Oh.” How did Naoto feel, knowing Chie now also had a Persona? I couldn't tell, but I had a pretty good guess, and wisely said nothing after just extending the olive branch. "I know it's strange for you, working together with a bunch of teenagers." 

"Strange is an understatement for this entire situation," Naoto said dryly. I laughed, which left her at a loss for words. She blushed and looked away. 

"I owe you an apology as well," Naoto said. I blinked. "I regret making you think... I'm glad you stayed with me. Before. I imagine it would've been far worse alone." She seemed her age at that moment, young and vulnerable.

"Suppose that makes us square, Blue." I smirked and stuck my hands in my pockets.

"Perhaps." A faint smile ghosted across her lips.

An awkward tension still hovered between us. I didn't know if I'd ever truly feel comfortable around someone like Naoto. But the uneasy truce had solidified into something more reliable. It was a start at the very least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not exactly sure how I want to handle shadow fights. Obviously, Naoto's will be written out, but I dunno if I want to write out the others. The anime and the games both cover them pretty well. I already felt like this chapter had way more summarizing than I'd like, but hopefully we'll continue to move away from that. I dunno. Whatever, thanks for all the kind words and kudos, they're much appreciated.


	5. Some Day My Prince Will Come

Nanako and I walked out of the house bright and early the next morning. I'd stuck a piece of toast in my mouth—imitating the average anime protagonist—which stole a giggle from her. Down the road stood Naoto, arms folded, expression unreadable.

"Who's that?" Nanako asked. I almost dropped my toast, catching it at the last second. 

"A cosplayer. Don't make eye contact and hold your breath," I whispered loudly. Some sort of love child between Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys (which one? I'd leave that for the sequel hook—and make it mandatory that someone, at some point, would scream 'who's your daddy?!' in a public place), but even more twee, somehow. Nanako looked confused.

Naoto's eye twitched. "You may have missed your calling as a comedian."

"That's me, a regular joker." Did she have to do this around Nanako? I bit into my breakfast rather grumpily. 

Apparently, yes. Naoto walked with us, silent until Nanako parted ways at the floodplains juncture. 

"I'd hypothesized that the false liquor store was located in the same place as its actual counterpart in Inaba, but the appearance of the castle—nothing like it exists here—throws a wrench in that theory." 

Nanako had barely rounded the corner before Naoto started talking. I sighed but listened quietly; I'd promised to co-operate with Naoto, and now was the time to deliver on said promise. Still, would I have this to look forward to every morning? Great. Just, awesome.

"From what Teddie was saying, the appearance of the place has nothing to do with real-world parallels, but how the person stuck down there feels," I said.  

"Indeed." She nodded. "But the locations must still correspond to the real world in some capacity. Teddie wouldn't have us enter from the same place otherwise. And the way fog works also implies a close link between worlds."

She was right. I tilted my head in thought, suddenly intrigued. "So... you think we could map out what location is where between there and here?"

"Maybe. And if we can, we could potentially pinpoint the origin of the crime scene." Naoto tilted the brim of her hat, a self-satisfied smile on her face. Okay, that was brilliant—if it worked. 

"How are we going to do that, though? There's no way to tell true north down there."

In answer, she pulled a compass out of her pocket with a slight flourish. What a dork. 

"If some sort of magnetic pole exists in a fucking television world, I'll owe you 100 yen." 

"Deal." But Naoto was frowning now. She tucked the compass back in her jacket. "It's worth testing out at the very least."

Fair enough. We walked a few more feet in silence.

"I wonder if Teddie could let us out somewhere else," I suggested. Naoto stopped dead. I'd taken a couple more steps forward (before realizing she wasn't following) and glanced over my shoulder at her.

"That's an excellent point. We should go ask him." Naoto had a bizarre look on her face. I blinked.

"Well, yeah, sure. But I kinda need to get to school now, or I'll be late." 

"Oh. Right." Naoto paused and then scowled. "This is more important than school."

Hey, I'd gladly skip out if I could get away with it. Dojima wouldn't see it the same way, however. 

" _Detective Shirogane_ , are you suggesting there's something more important than my education—than my future? Seems rather short-sighted of you," I teased, unable to resist. 

She reddened, suddenly embarrassed, and fidgeted. "I only meant..."

Naoto looked so uncomfortable that I actually felt bad. 

"It's cool. Besides, we should probably do this with everyone, not just us. We made a promise, after all: all for one and one for all or whatever. See you after school, Blue." 

She didn't answer. 

...

We met up with Naoto later and dove straight into the TV world. She made a beeline for Teddie, but I pulled her aside.

"Wait," I said. Naoto scowled. "Let's focus on Yukiko for now. We can test this out later."

The others watched us, their expressions curious. Naoto frowned and then sighed, adjusting her glasses. "Very well."

She took out her compass, glanced at it, scowled some more, and then handed me 100 yen. Sweet, sweet victory. I smirked.

"What was that all about?" Yosuke asked.

"Nothing relevant. Let's go." Naoto strode forward. I followed her, biting back a laugh. 

We entered Yukiko's castle. Chie soon proved her worth as a third fighter (I'd been somewhat worried especially given the quick turnaround), kicking the shit out of everything in our way. 

As we navigated the castle, I spied Naoto taking notes in a little pocketbook. I let her work without comment—she was more than capable of problem-solving without my input.

Soon I realized I could summon Persona other than Izanagi. They often appeared after a fight, offering their services, although sometimes I had to bargain with them. None of the others noticed. Was this what Igor meant by me being a wildcard? I mostly stuck with Izanagi regardless: the silent swordsman made me feel safe in a way the others didn't. 

Eventually, we came across Yukiko's shadow and a massive knight monster. The fight was arduous and left us all exhausted. We no longer had the energy to summon any of our Personas, and at that point, Naoto called for a retreat. I was too tired to argue, almost falling over and passing out on the return. Teddie told us he didn't sense the fog lifting any time soon, which eased some of my fears, although I still couldn't help but worry a little.

"A prince..." Naoto said, moody, walking me back home. I yawned and almost tripped over my own feet. 

"Seems like. Maybe you should ask her to let down her hair."  

Naoto responded with a dirty look but otherwise didn't take the bait. "It disturbs me that some part of her feels like that. Relying on a man to rescue her." 

"But you rely on being perceived as a man to succeed, don't you? Is that really so different?"

"Yes." Naoto glowered at me. "I chose this lifestyle to make the most of my career. She's just... waiting... for someone to come and fix her problems for her."

"Her shadow," I corrected. "They're not the same."

"They aren't?"

"Whatever, so some people are a bit more passive. When you feel trapped, it's hard to see a way out for yourself. Sometimes you need help," I said. "No need to be so judgy."

"I'm not being _judgy_ ," Naoto retorted. "There's a simple, straightforward solution here and I don't understand why she can't see it."

I had several acerbic answers lined up, but they died on the tip of my tongue as we rounded the corner; Dojima stood outside the house. Waiting for me. Dammit, I was in trouble, wasn't I?

"Shirogane. I hope Ren hasn't been causing you problems." Dojima's tone was flat. Naoto looked taken aback and even—was she intimidated? No way. Maybe? It was hard to tell for sure. She coughed and adjusted the cuff of her jacket.

"Detective Dojima. Amamiya-san has actually been quite helpful—."

"He has nothing to do with any of this, and even if he did, you're not involved in this case," Dojima snapped. "Back off and leave my nephew alone."

Whoa. I almost spoke up, but Dojima acting all protective was sort of flattering. 

"Not yet anyway," Naoto said after a thoughtful pause. Dojima's face darkened. 

"I'm warning you, Shirogane. Stay away from the police station— _and_ our officers while you're at it. We don't need some unauthorized kid poking around and riling people up, everyone's on edge as it is. C'mon, Ren, I already ordered dinner."

Naoto said nothing, but a faint flush crept up her neck. Dojima put a hand on my shoulder and guided me inside. I didn't quite know what to say, although I rather dreaded the takeout. 

He didn't ream me out like I expected. Dojima stayed quiet throughout most of dinner. Near the end, as the local news started up, he spoke:

"What did you tell him?"

"Do I look like a snitch? Not a damn thing," I said. Dojima laughed and then stopped, glanced at Nanako (who watched us curiously), and sighed.

"Language, Ren." More silence. He had deep, dark bags under his eyes. "You… haven't gotten into any sort of trouble, have you? Some of the guys at the police station were talking about what happened with you and that Hanamura boy up at Junes."

"Not my fault." I instantly went on the defensive. "I had no idea he was going to do that."  

A pause. Dojima toyed with his leftovers.

"Ren. Who you're friends with plays a huge role in whether or not you succeed in life. I wouldn't have become a detective if not for the people I knew in university. They can help you out of a tough situation, support you when you need them, but they can also drag you down if you're not careful. Do you understand?"

Who did he think he was, my dad? I glowered at my half-eaten meal. "C'mon, this is Yosuke Hanamura we're talking about, not some gang member. I don't want to screw up, either, I'm not an idiot."

"Well, if you're going to talk the talk you better walk the walk," Dojima growled, face flushing. I dug my hand into the fabric of my pants. "Look at me when I'm speaking to you, Ren."

I met his gaze evenly. 

"Is there anything you're not telling me?" Dojima asked. 

"Of course not."

"... Okay." He looked away first. 

"What's wrong? Are you guys fighting again?" Nanako asked at last, head cocked to the side. Dojima winced. 

"No, we're not fighting."

"This isn't the police station." She frowned. Yeah, tell him, Nanako. Tomorrow I would wake up early and cook her an awesome breakfast. 

Dojima scratched his head. He muttered something unintelligible under his breath and then said, "Please be careful, Ren. You've only got so many second chances to burn. At the end of the day, I'm just trying to look out for you. Got that?"

I nodded, silently fuming. 

…

 At lunch the next day, I ate alone on the rooftop. I'd made a boxed lunch for myself, thank god; Yosuke wouldn't stop pestering me with shitty theories about the TV world. Naoto hadn't waited for me before the walk to school, probably intimidated after the run-in with Dojima—.

Was that smoke?

I sniffed. Acrid, tangy, familiar. Faint as well, but I'd know it anywhere. Standing, I walked toward the back of the roof. The scent grew stronger, and stronger, until... 

A third-year, sporting an enormous afro, lay sprawled out behind the stairwell smoking a blunt. We stared at each other. 

"Whoa, you're that second-year, aren't you? The transfer student who creeps on girls?" He took the blunt out of his mouth.

"Well, yes, but actually, no." 

A long pause. 

"I know the ways of the world, son." He nodded like some world-weary saint. "You ain't gotta play with me."

I crouched beside him. The contact high was starting to hit me. Just how much had this guy been smoking? 

"It was a setup, man."

"Whoa." He took a hit off his blunt. "That's real deep."

"Uh... I guess." Usually, when people brought up the incident, I wanted to punch something. But right then, I had the overwhelming urge to laugh. This dude was great. 

"Riddle me this, transfer student. Why the man always try keeping us little guys down?"

Good question.

"Dunno, funky student."

"Funky—." He started laughing, which turned into a spluttering cough. After another, even longer pause, he asked, "So you really didn't hurt that girl, then, huh?" 

"Do you think I did?"

He stared at me. "Naw. You give off good vibes, dog. You're all right."

"Thanks." For some reason, I wanted to cry.

More silence followed. 

"Wanna buy some weed?"

I thought about it. "Yeah, sure."

I wouldn't smoke it there, though. I'd wait until after we rescued Yukiko as a reward for myself. 

He counted the money I gave him. Then he nodded, clearly satisfied, and handed over the goods. "Welp, time for me to blow. Catch you on the flip, riddle brotha."  

I finished the rest of my meal in a much better mood than before. 

...

A bird in a cage.

Yukiko's shadow turned into a bird trapped in a cage.

Could that be any more on the nose? At least disco frogman and dominatrix bananahead were weird in an engaging sort of way. And was the fire really necessary? 

Naoto just stood off to the side while Chie fussed over Yukiko, before eventually asking if Yukiko had seen anything prior to winding up in TV land. Naoto almost seemed relieved by the inconclusive answer. 

We'd done it. We'd saved Yukiko. 

As Teddie took us back, relief filled me. I wanted to skip, shout, get faded; celebrate in some way or another. 

Somehow Naoto and I wound up on the Samegawa floodplains again. The others had walked Yukiko home.

Naoto climbed up a tree, so light and nimble the leaves barely rustled as she settled amidst the branches. I rested at the base of the trunk, lit up my blunt, and watched the river below. The setting sun glinted off the silver water. Clouds hovered in the distance; tomorrow would bring rain. I felt at peace.

"It's not over yet, Ren."

Of course, Naoto ruined the moment. 

"Yeah, yeah."  

"We need to talk with Teddie about our hypothesis. And the killer might try again."

"Chill out, Blue."

I couldn't see her, but I could feel her glare burning into my back. Then Naoto surprised me.

"Amagi and Satonaka are lucky to have each other." She sounded wistful. I blew out a ring of smoke. 

"Yeah." 

A whistle of air. A soft thud. Naoto landed beside me, light and balanced, like some sort of cat. 

"Give me that." She held out a hand. I stared, realized what Naoto meant, and grudgingly relinquished the blunt.

For a split second, I thought she might actually try it. Naoto inspected the blunt, tip still burning orange, like some sort of foreign object never before seen on Nippon soil. Then she crushed it underfoot, thoroughly and mercilessly. 

"That's so not cool, Blue." 

"You may have been right about some things, but you're still a fool," Naoto retorted. 

"Heh. Nice rhyme. You have potential." 

She rolled her eyes but held out a hand, helping me to my feet. I followed her back home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I really struggle with figuring out how to handle anything revolving around shadows. Oh well. Just sort of powered through, fairly satisfied with the result even if it's short. Hopefully, now that we've gotten past the opening portion I'll have a lot more freedom to get creative.


	6. Job Hunting

Rain trickled down the window pane. Everything was grey and dull outside: nice day for a holiday. Then again, any day I didn't have school was a good day, regardless of the weather.  

I finished buttoning up my blazer and headed downstairs. Nanako sat at the table, knees crossed, watching television. She briefly glanced at me before looking away.

"'Lo."

"Yo." I checked the fridge. Nothing. Nothing edible, at least. That was _not_ white miso. 

Slamming the door shut, I turned away in disgust. A trip to Junes was necessary—again—it seemed. Maybe Dojima should worry less about my activities and more about supplying his own damn home. 

The man in question ambled out of his room looking like death warmed over. He shuffled to the coffee machine, mumbling something incoherent as he passed me. I went and plunked myself down beside Nanako; she was watching Featherman R.

Brightly colored figures jumped around onscreen. Although dated, the special effects were charming. An enormous, obviously fake robot fired ugly CGI missiles at a man dressed in a rubber suit. 

"Which one's your favorite?" I asked. Nanako's face scrunched up in concentration. 

"The pink one. She's really pretty and strong," Nanako answered as though I'd asked the most crucial question in the entire world.

"Oh, yeah"—Dojima leaned against the counter, steaming cup of coffee gripped like a lifeline—"you should try looking for a part-time job today, Ren. It'd give you something useful to do."

I scowled but relented. "Sure. I want to go shopping too. Can I have some money?" 

Dojima hesitated. We stared at each other. Then he sighed. 

"Sure." He ran a hand through his hair. "Yen's on the counter."

I fist-pumped as I walked out of the house.

...

"Absolutely not." The gas station owner glowered at me. "Y'know how much trouble you got me in? Get out of here, kid."

I shrugged and walked away. The gas attendant lady—her name was Marie, apparently—looked sympathetic. 

"Sorry about that," she said as I opened my umbrella. 

"No problem. It's my fault, anyway. Appreciate the help." I paused. "Do you want to go out for dinner sometime?" 

She looked taken aback. Then Marie smiled wryly. "Very bold. I'm flattered, but I'll have to say no."

 "Ah, shame. See you around, then."

"By the way, Aiya's has a special on rainy days. I recommend it," she called behind me. I waved to show I'd heard. 

The streets were wet with rain; it was pouring buckets. Each individual droplet rattled against my umbrella before dripping off and returning to the ground. 

Not many people were outside. Numerous shops were shuttered, closed forever, driven out of business by Junes. Something twinged in my chest at the thought. For a split second, I resented Yosuke, and then shame followed.

I stood at the entrance to the shrine—maybe wish for some good fortune? But lady luck hated me. I'd stopped believing in dumb superstitions a long time ago, anyway.  

Naoto waited behind me, surprised expression mirroring my own. She adjusted her grip on her umbrella and coughed. Her face smoothed over as she visibly established control once again. 

"Amamiya-san. What are you doing here?"

"Job hunting, Blue-chan."

Naoto scowled. 

I hesitated, and then, in a moment of vulnerability, added, "It's... not going great."  

Nobody wanted me. Not that I blamed them. 

Naoto blinked. She looked past me, at the shrine entrance, then down at her shoes. 

"I don't know what to say," she admitted. 

Of course, the genius child detective from a lineage of famous detectives didn't have to worry about such trivial matters. 

"Not your problem—don't worry about it." My response came out gruffer than intended. 

There was a long, awkward pause.

"Do you want to get out of the rain?" Naoto asked, looking uncomfortable. "Aiya's has a special on rainy days."

"So I've heard." But I nodded. 

Aiya's smelled nice: like warmth and umami. A savory flavor lingered in the back of my throat as we walked in. People milled about inside, friendly, rubbing shoulders and exchanging greetings. Naoto took off her hat and coat—she looked younger without them.

"We should head back soon. We still haven't talked to Teddie about it," Naoto said as we sat down. The rainy beef bowl challenge was 3000 yen. Yikes. "I'll cover it."

"Uh, sure." Just letting Naoto pay felt weird, but she did have a steady job, so, whatever? Although if I ate it all, it'd be free. Hmm. "Anyway, I talked to Chie, and she said Yukiko plans on coming back to school tomorrow. We can go then." 

A blatant excuse. In truth, I'd avoided entering the television world the past couple days. Naoto looked thoughtful as she ordered our meals. 

"It didn't seem like Amagi-san knew much when we rescued her." 

"Yeah, but now that she's had a chance to recover and think, she might remember something." 

"It's possible. Don't forget about the appointment on Sunday."

Right. Hospital check-up. I made a face. "You really think they'll find anything?"

"We won't know until we receive the results."  

Silence. I fidgeted. 

"The sports clubs and culture clubs are looking for people," I said out-of-nowhere. Naoto raised a brow but said nothing. I cleared my throat, suddenly self-conscious. "I was thinking about joining." 

I'd played soccer back in the city. I kind of missed it. 

"As long as it doesn't interfere with the investigation, I don't see why not." She took a sip of her water.

"Yeah. Plus there's this girl in drama club who's pretty hot."

Naoto choked on her drink, sputtering. I patted her on the back, somewhat condescending, and said, "You'll understand when you're older."  

She shot me a nasty look, wiping at her mouth with a napkin. "I'm  _not_ a child, Ren."

Something about her tone gave me pause. "Okay. Sorry."

Naoto blinked but said nothing.

"What do you do for schooling, anyway?" I asked, suddenly curious. She brushed her bangs out of her eyes, brow furrowed. 

"I have private tutors."

Of course.

"Fancy."

Naoto's shoulders hunched. The owner set our plates down in front of us. 

"Jesus Christ, it's huge." I inhaled, taking a deep breath of the steaming pile of _meat_ before me. "It's like... like a portal to a meat dimension." 

"You say the strangest things sometimes." Naoto sounded amused. 

"Look at that thing and tell me I'm wrong." 

I poked at the glistening pile with my chopsticks, half-expecting it to come alive and eat me instead.

"No one's ever completed the rainy beef bowl challenge, supposedly." 

"I can see why." 

We ate in relative silence then. People eating was a source of fascination for me. Dojima usually ate his food without tasting it while Nanako would play with hers, prolonging the meal to avoid finishing her plate. Chie would just inhale her food while Yosuke ate slowly, interspersing the act with lots of animated small talk.

Naoto was delicate, almost bird-like, cutting her food into neat cubes before deftly popping pieces into her mouth. I watched her chew, jaw working, and then her slender throat contract as she swallowed, oddly hypnotized by the rigid machinations. It was the most feminine thing I'd seen out of Naoto. Then she caught me staring, and I looked away, embarrassed. 

By the time we finished (well, not _finished_ , finished, there was still over half left) my belt felt comfortably tight. 

"When I die, I want to die smothered in this beef," I informed Naoto while she paid. 

She rolled her eyes, jamming her hat back onto her head and buttoning up her coat. Gone was the girl; the detective had returned. 

...

"I enter burdened with glorious purpose." 

Grocery bags weighed down my arms as I staggered back into the house. Naoto followed me, looking ready to fall over. How she managed to carry anything heavy with such scrawny arms was a mystery to me.

"Whoa, there's so much!" Nanako approached, the smile dropping off her face as she noticed Naoto.

"I should take my leave." Naoto placed her bags on the table with a thump, wiping the rain and sweat off her brow. 

"Yeah. Dojima'll probably be late, but better safe than sorry. Thanks for your help," I said.

Naoto tipped her hat toward me. Weird, but whatever. I saluted in reply, somewhat cheeky, and she frowned slightly before heading out. 

"Why were you with that strange man again?" Nanako asked, guarded. It took a moment to realize who she meant. 

"He's... a friend. Sort of. It's complicated."

"Are you in trouble?"

"Nah. If anything, he's helping me be less bad."

"I don't think you're bad."

"Thanks, Nanako." I smiled. "Want to help me cook?" 

"Yeah!" Her face lit up. 

We cooked a feast. Well, not really. I was still pretty full from the rainy beef bowl challenge and didn't plan on eating much. But I showed Nanako how to broil fish, wrapping them tightly ('like one of those old fashioned western dresses that made it impossible to breathe,' I explained very seriously) and then drizzling them in olive oil. 

We also fried some rice and started a pot of (non-caffeinated) tea. It was fun. The Dojima household smelled fantastic, feeling like an actual home instead of a poster child for latchkey kids. As the night drew to a close, we watched TV together, enjoying more Featherman R. 

There was a thump at the entrance.

"He's home!" Nanako stood up, excited. 

"Whoa, something smells good," called an unfamiliar voice. 

In shuffled a young detective. I felt as though I knew him, although his face was so nondescript I'd perhaps forgotten. Then it hit me: he'd accused me the day Mayumi Yamano died. Asshole. 

"Huh." Dojima sniffed the air. 

"Oh... um... hello..." Nanako said, stepping behind me. "W-we saved you leftovers, Dad."

"Really? How thoughtful." Dojima smiled. Nanako's idea, definitely not mine. 

"Who the hell is this guy?" I asked. 

Dojima's smile became a frown.

"Ah, Ren Amamiya. Sorry we got off on the wrong foot before. I'm Adachi, the guy who's been your dad's slave since spring." He rubbed the back of his head, expression sheepish.   

Dojima was so _not_ my dad. 

"I can still work you harder, you know. Anyway, we got off at the same time, so I gave him a ride home. Figured we'd swing by here first, though," Dojima explained. 

What?

Somehow that gormless Adachi guy wound up shoveling _my_  food into his stupid mouth, alongside Dojima, while Nanako and I sat on the couch and watched. 

"Wow, this fish is amazing. So you're from the city too, huh?" Adachi asked me. "I went to the academy in the Tokyo metropolitan. Used to stop by this amazing little coffee shop every morning on my way to school." 

I just shrugged.

"I miss it sometimes, you know. Always something interesting going on, it seemed. Always someone with a story. Inaba isn't like that—or, well, it wasn't. We found your friend, Yukiko Amagi, by the way. She went and suddenly reappeared without warning. It's real weird, almost like something more is going on—."

Dojima smacked Adachi upside the head. "Stop blabbering, dumbass!"

"S-sorry."

Talk about whipped.

Dojima turned to us. "Ignore him. Just spouting some wild fantasy of his. Anyway, how'd the job search go, Ren?"

"Didn't find anything," I said.

"Oh." Dojima looked disappointed. "Well, keep trying. I'm sure something will break your way soon."

"He should be a cook at Aiya's!" Nanako said.

"I wish. They're not hiring." But I patted her on the shoulder to show my appreciation. 

Dinner proved lively for once. Adachi acted like a total rube, but Dojima talked more than I'd ever seen him before. We even made tentative plans for Golden Week, provided Dojima could get off. I had my doubts, but Nanako seemed so excited, I couldn't bring myself to say anything. 

"We should get going. There's supposed to be fog tonight. C'mon, Adachi."  

"Don't forget your ball gag," I said under my breath. Adachi stumbled slightly. Vengeance was a dish best served cold.

"What did you just say?" Dojima frowned at me.

"Just don't want him to forget anything," I said, the picture of innocence. Dojima regarded me suspiciously before heading out with an embarrassed Adachi in tow. 

...

 "... And then those assholes ate our entire meal! Can you believe that, Shirogane-kun?" Chie's mouth was full of steak, eyes bright with righteous indignation. 

"My fried tofu," Yukiko said sadly. 

Oh, lighten up. It was cheap garbage, anyways; I did Yukiko a favor. I'm not sure what demon possessed me to devour instant ramen with such fervor, but it was definitely Yosuke's fault somehow. 

"Talk about great timing, though." The man in question was relaxed, hands behind his head. "We just started serving grilled steak today. We're doing our part to spread this town's specialty dishes."

A picture of the shopping district, grey and drab, half the stores closed for good, briefly slid behind my mind's eye.  

"Right." Naoto's expression was a mixture of bafflement and irritation. She cleared her throat. "Let's focus. So did you recall anything else, Amagi-san?"

"No…" Yukiko also looked slightly frustrated, no doubt because she was repeating herself for the umpteenth time. Maybe we shouldn't hold meetings at school as we inevitably had to fill Naoto in after the fact, but it was just so damn convenient. Plus when Naoto wasn't there, things tended to be more... fun. 

"What type of person do you think the killer is?" Chie wondered aloud.

"Probably all sorts of fucked-up." Yosuke leaned forward. "If we focus on the announcer case, it seems like a revenge thing. Maybe her lover's wife did it?"  

"Both Misuzu Hiiragi and Taro Namatame have airtight alibis. They were the first two suspects investigated." Naoto looked exasperated. Chie and Yosuke turned sheepish, falling silent. "Anyway. Amagi-san, it sounds like they may've tampered with your memory. A drug of some type in all likelihood. And you were in a situation where you felt safe and comfortable as well. So perhaps it's someone you know?" 

Naoto held herself very still, peering intently into Yukiko's eyes without blinking. It was kind of creepy, and I could see it unsettling Yukiko. I nudged Naoto's foot; she glanced at me, startled, before returning her attention to Yukiko. But at least now she was blinking again. 

"I know a lot of people working at the inn," Yukiko said at last, hesitantly.

"Do you think you could arrange for me to interview your employees?" Naoto asked.

"They would never hurt me!" Yukiko flared up. Surprised by the show of emotion, I exchanged looks with Naoto. 

"I need to verify that, and even if they haven't, they might've seen something," Naoto explained like she was talking to a toddler. Yukiko and Chie both bristled. Smooth move, Blue. 

Before Naoto could further stick her foot into her mouth, a familiar foe appeared. 

"Ooh, they updated the menu!" Adachi strolled into view, absentmindedly peering around the food court. Hello, darkness, my old friend. He locked eyes with me and smiled. Fucking—. "Hey! You're Dojima's ward. Hope there're no hard feelings." There are, trust me. Also, ward? Really? "Oh, and Nao-kun's here too."  

Wait a minute, did he just...? Naoto's face quite possibly went through the entire rainbow in five seconds flat, from bright red to deep purple to stark white. Chie uttered a soft 'aww, that's so cute' in the background. Adachi patted Naoto on the head, smiling cheerfully. She just sat there, hands balled into fists.

"Isn't it past your bedtime?" he asked, laughing. How was that even clever? It was like five o'clock in the afternoon. "No, but seriously, I thought you mentioned making the trip back to your estate?" 

"Change of plans," Naoto said through gritted teeth.

"I see! I don't blame ya, this boring ol' town's finally interesting. Nice to see you playing with others your age for once, though." Adachi beamed. 

Oh my god, this was amazing.

"... I appreciate the sentiment, Adachi-san." Naoto refused to look at me. Probably for the best, as I would've completely lost my shit.  

"No problem. And if you ever want further mentorship, I'm always happy to help. It's my duty to foster the next generation of detectives, after all." 

Naoto didn't respond.

"Are you this busy every day?" Yosuke's effortless douchebaggery was genuinely remarkable; I could only dream of reaching such dizzying heights. 

Adachi looked around, worried, and grimaced. "Oh, well, the public seems to get a charge out of these cases, but we can't leave it at that. They've had us patrolling town more frequently, y'know, so people feel safe. I should probably get going, haha, or Dojima'll have my ass for lunch. Oh, and Ren, let Nanako-chan know that Dojima will be home on time tonight. See ya!"

And with that charming imagery burned into my brain (also did he just refer to me by first name? Really?), he departed. I turned toward Naoto.

"Don't." She glared at an unseen point on the horizon. "Say. Anything."

I held up my arms in mock surrender, biting back a smile.

...

"Let you out... somewhere else?" Teddie frowned. "But why would you want to do that? You won't know where you'll end up!" 

"It would assist us in finding the—."

Yukiko's laughing fit cut off Naoto's sentence. Naoto paused, irritation briefly flashing across her face, before saying, "We want to locate what television set the killer used to murder their victims."   

"Oh, well, okay. I'll be a good bear and help. Where do you want to try?" 

"We should check both the castle and the liquor store," Naoto said.

Yukiko stopped laughing. Yosuke looked uneasy too. 

"I mean... do we have to?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck. 

"Yes." Naoto straightened. "Lead the way, Teddie."

We set off. Both Yukiko and Yosuke dawdled behind, dragging their feet. Chie walked backward, talking to them, her voice friendly and encouraging. I stared at Naoto's back, at her posture rigid. Did she even notice—no, did she even care that they were uncomfortable? 

Yukiko's castle loomed overhead, indomitable as ever. But much of its mystique had been vanquished along with the shadow for me. Teddie padded back and forth at the entrance, ears twitching.  

"No, there's nothing here. Sorry."

"Nothing inside either?" Naoto pressed him.

Teddie shook his head.

"So we can go now?" Yosuke asked, hopefully.

"Not yet. I still want to instigate the liquor store." Naoto started walking.

"But if there isn't one here, why would one be there?"

"I don't know, but I'm not leaving anything to chance."

Her grim determination silenced Yosuke's complaints. The fog bore down on us, pallid and yellow. Even with my glasses, a dull throb started in my temples. Whenever there weren't any shadows or disembodied voices, the television world had such an eerie, stifling silence cloaking it. I really hated this place. 

The false liquor store waited for us. For some reason, it unsettled me more than the castle ever did. It looked so normal but felt so... evil. Teddie perked up as we approached. 

"There's something inside!" 

"Excellent. Lead the way," Naoto said.

"Why don't you guys wait out here?" Enough was enough. "Naoto and I'll head in with Teddie."

Yosuke looked torn between relief and shame.

"Are you sure it's wise to split the party?" Naoto asked, her expression unreadable. 

"Yeah! What if you get attacked by shadows?" Chie hopped back and forth on the balls of her feet. 

"There aren't any around here!" Teddie chirped. "The nose knows!" 

Ugh. 

"Right, there you have it. You guys can stand guard in case anything shows up. And if we take too long, come in and see what's up."

An uneasy pause followed before everyone reluctantly agreed to the plan.

Inside the liquor store appeared much smaller than I remembered. Everything was still a cluttered mess, however. I absently stared at the shelves of bottles while Teddie wandered around.

"By the way, Blue." Sake, whiskey, highball, wine, champagne. Lots and lots of champagne for some reason. "Maybe chill a bit. You're stressing everyone out."

"Don't be absurd." Her response was immediate and curt. "We need to find the killer before they hurt anyone else." 

Teddie paused, glanced at us, and then resumed sniffing the air.

"I mean, we don't even know if they'll target anyone else."

"You don't truly believe that?" Naoto asked. I didn't answer. "The rest of our _investigation team_ "—she injected those two words with immense distaste—"need to grow up and realize this is serious. Amagi-san laughing like it's some sort of joke after everything that's happened to her. And Hanamura! Treating this as if it's a vacation. Was that not the whole point of his shadow? Yet nothing about the event seems to have penetrated his thick skull."

"Okay, that's some bullshit right there." I turned on my heels. Naoto stood by the checkout counter, a sheaf of magazines held loosely in her hands. "We're no police force, we're no detectives, we're just a bunch of high school kids. We're trying our best, but we can't... suddenly be something we're not. You're going to have to accept that or leave and figure this shit out on your own."

We stared at each other. 

"Here. Found it." Teddie stopped, words breaking up the standoff. His ears drooped. "I can't find the exit, though."

"Why not?" Naoto asked, frowning. 

"Something won't let me."

What?

"... A shadow? Is it Saki Konishi's shadow? Why? Wait, I thought you said there weren't any shadows here!" I wanted to scream. So close and yet so far. 

My aggressive line of questioning was a mistake. Teddie put his paws on his head and cowered. Dammit, another dead end. 

Naoto sat down with a thump. She pulled off her hat, looking as frustrated as I felt. After a moment, before I could really think through my actions, I went over, took a seat beside Naoto, and leaned shoulder-to-shoulder against her. 

Naoto tensed and then slowly, hesitantly relaxed. She was so _small_. I'd always known that, but it didn't actually register until just then. Small and light, almost insubstantial. Teddie trudged toward us, head hung low and ears pinned back. 

"I'm beary sorry, sensei."

So many things about that sentence annoyed me, but I didn't let it show.

"'S cool, Ted." I patted him on the head. 

After a moment, Naoto reached out and stroked him too. He perked up, purring from deep in his chest. How did an empty suit purr, anyway? Oh, whatever. All three of us were silent. Something nagged at me: the sense I'd forgotten something important. 

"What position?" Naoto asked out of nowhere. Distracted, I looked at her, bemused. "What... position do you play?"

It clicked, then. "Left-back. Coaches love playing natural lefties there."

I shook my leg to emphasize my point. 

"Understandable. The angles are better." Naoto nodded. Then, "We should head back." 

I shrugged and stood up, snagging a crate of beer. "Sure."

"Absolutely not."

Pouting, I set it back down. Teddie smelled the beer, curious, before losing interest and facing us. We walked back to the entrance where the others waited. Yosuke stopped pacing, a weak smile breaking across his face.

"Unfortunately it was a dead-end," Naoto said. His smile fell away. "But we did learn something today."

Oh?

"Oh?" Yosuke asked. 

"Indeed." Naoto adjusted her cap. "Wherever Konishi-san was thrown in still has a television, while Amagi-san's castle does not."    

"Uh, okay. But what does that mean?" Chie's face screwed up with intense concentration.

"... I'm not sure yet," Naoto admitted. Yosuke mussed his hair, scowling.

"Dammit, nothing makes any sense! We're no closer to solving this case than before." He bit his lip.

"We'll just have to keep an eye on the Midnight Channel for now," I said. "Not much else we can do."

Yukiko started nodding along with my words. The way they listened to everything I said was vaguely surreal.

"Ren is correct. Also, our check-ups are tomorrow at the Inaba hospital. Don't forget," Naoto said. 

We agreed and left the television world. Teddie watched us sadly as we departed.

...

Dojima came into my room after putting Nanako to bed. I lay on my couch, reading  _A Great Man._  Weird ass book: would recommend.  

"Hey," I said.

"Hey." He stood there, awkwardly. "Could you...?" 

I set my book down and sat up. "Yeah?"

Dojima hesitated before laying out a bunch of papers on my coffee table. They were all sorts of colors, vivid and bright, and I half-expected him to ask me to do Nanako's arts and crafts project for her. 

"Found some jobs for you. Translator. Envelope maker. Origami crane folder. Not exactly glamorous jobs, but... you can do them here, in your room, and they pay. So. Yeah." He scratched the back of his head.

"You didn't have to do that." I was touched in spite of myself, though. Dojima coughed.

"Well, I guess I realized I wasn't doing anything to help you out. Made me feel like I wasn't being a very good uncle. And I don't want that. I also noticed, you, uh, seem to get along well with kids. So I set up a job interview with the local daycare... if you want."

I swallowed hard. Suddenly I had the strong urge to cry. Dojima turned to leave. 

"Dojima. Wait," I said. He glanced over his shoulder. "I'm looking forward to Golden Week. I've never... done anything like that with family, before."

Dojima smiled. He looked younger, then. "Me too. Goodnight, Ren."

I did, in fact, sleep well that night.


	7. Nothing Gold Can Stay

_Yosuke stared me, tears in his eyes, and said, "Ren, you're my father."_

_"Noooooo." I fell onto my knees. And yet, despite the strange situation, I'd never felt closer to Yosuke than at that moment._

_Brrring._ A phone call woke me up at the crack of dawn. I thrashed about, tangled in my futon's blankets, twisting into knots. _Brrring._ After a second longer spent flailing like a fish out of water, my hand closed around the smooth plastic casing of my phone. _Brrring._

I flipped it open, silencing the obnoxious ringing, and pressed the phone against my ear. "Whozzat?"

"Hello. I realize this is sudden, but I'm Margaret. We've met at the Velvet Room."

It took me a full second to process her statement. I said, "The fuck?"

"There is one important point I forgot to warn you about, so I thought it best to contact you immediately. The bonds you form with others will affect the strength of your Personas. Proceed with caution and devote yourself to more than battles if you wish to solve this mystery..."

How did she get this number? How the _f_ _uck_ did she get this number? That's it; I'm changing it, effective immediately. 

"... Now, if you'll excuse me."

"Wait, what the fuck are—?"

Margaret hung up on me. I stared at my phone, speechless, before flopping back in bed. It was too early in the damn morning for this shit.  

...

I hated hospitals. They were stark and sterile and full of false smiles. At least my nurse was hot. She took my weight and vitals, perhaps lingering a little longer than necessary when checking my pulse. That was probably just my imagination, though.

"You're the boy from the city, aren't you? Ren Amamiya?" She looked up from her clipboard, expression impish. Then again, maybe not.

"Yep, that's me." 

"You look… different than I expected."

"And what did you expect?"

She just smiled, looking me up and down, and said, "You know, we're hiring for janitors right now. You should consider applying—the hospital loves appearing diverse." 

"Is that right?"

She touched my arm. Her badge read 'Sayoko.'

Why was I like catnip to medical practitioners? Not that I was complaining. Besides, Margaret had been going on and on about forging more connections with people just this morning. If that wasn't a sign, I didn't know what was.  

"If you do, I'll put in a good word for you. Hope to see you soon, Ren. The doctor will be with you shortly." Sayoko looked at me over her shoulder as she walked out of the room. Hello, nurse. Now that's what I'd call scoring. 

The doctor performed a checkup, brisk and business-like, before sending me back out into the waiting room. Naoto, Chie, Yukiko, and Yosuke were all there. Chie watched TV, Yukiko flipped through a magazine, and Yosuke listened to music through his headphones, nodding off. Naoto sat with her hands folded, staring out the window at nothing in particular. The doctor called for her, and she headed in without a word to any of us.

"Yo, partner!" Yosuke jolted upright, pulling his headphones down around his neck. I'd gone last, and now we just had to wait for our results. I returned his greeting with a two-fingered salute, and Yosuke grinned. "Dude, your nurse was smoking hot."

"Yeah." I took a seat next to him. "I think she likes me."

"What?!" 

The others glanced over at me as well.

"She offered to help me get a job. _And_ she had her hands all over me," I said, more than a little smug.

"Dude." Yosuke looked awed. Then it shifted into outrage. "Dude, what the hell?! I'm from the city too! Why aren't hot nurses falling all over _me_?"

"You're both gross." Chie scowled at us. Yukiko said nothing, still flipping through her magazine, but she also seemed disapproving, peeking at us over the pages with narrowed eyes. 

"Probably because you radiate big country bumpkin energy," I told Yosuke, smirking. Chie snorted.

"Wha—how?! I'm totally cultured!" Yosuke said in a low, heated undertone. "Explain to me how I don't come off as a dope ass city slicker like you."

"Yosuke. You wear a fake fur jacket."

Chie's snort turned into a full-blown laugh. Yukiko snickered as well. 

"Man, fuck you. My jacket is awesome." But Yosuke was grinning. "And once I get my motorcycle, the ladies'll be all over me. But damn, already making your move? What would King Moron say?" 

I cleared my throat and stuck my teeth out in my best Mr. Morooka impression and said, "Damn you, city kids, impregnating all the women before _I_ can."

Everyone laughed at that. Yukiko's snickers turned into a full-blown fit. 

"Oh my god," Chie said, turning bright red. "You are way too good at that."

"Hnnng, I coulda been somebody. I didn't have to be a teacher, y' know. Keepin' you girls with your damn short skirts in line—no wonder this place is goin' to shit!" I lost it at that point, slumping in my seat, shaking with laughter along with the others. Yukiko had legit tears in her eyes. 

Suddenly, I realized Naoto had returned, quietly watching us with her arms crossed, expression unreadable. I clammed up, and everyone else quickly followed suit. Naoto started.

"Oh, no, it's fine, you..." She stopped, frowning slightly, and shook her head. "Nevermind. Results are in; we're all perfectly healthy. The doctor doesn't see any reason for further testing." Naoto sounded unhappy about it. 

"Hey, that's great," I said at last, breaking the awkward silence. "I'm glad I won't be sprouting a third arm out of my forehead any time soon."

Yukiko giggled. Naoto responded with a flat glare.

"Quite." 

We all stood, gathering our stuff and leaving the hospital. On the way, I snagged an application. Even though Dojima had already set up an interview for me, it wouldn't hurt to apply, right?

I stepped outside and breathed the clean, clear air. Freedom at last. For once, it wasn't raining, although the grass still smelled like damp earth.  

"I wonder if they'd find anything looking at Teddie?" Chie wondered aloud as we wandered into the streets. 

"He's hollow, the hell is there to find? And can he even leave that place?" Yosuke asked. 

We all shrugged and then swiveled toward Naoto. She had been staring straight ahead, hands in her pockets. After a moment, she blinked at us.

"Hmm? Oh, apologies, I was lost in my own contemplations." Naoto fidgeted with her cufflink. "You all have off for the holidays, correct?"

"Yeah, although I'm heading out of town with Dojima and Nanako," I said. Naoto tilted her head, suddenly looking confused. She pursed her lips but stayed quiet. What the—? I barreled on regardless, ignoring the odd moment. "And while I'm gone, I don't want you calling me unless you're, like, thrown in a fucking TV or something. In fact, you know those medical waivers where you list an emergency contact?"

"Indeed," Naoto said. My question had been rhetorical, but I let it slide.

"Well, this is like the inverse of that. So no one better call me, because I'm not answering the phone"—least of all for fucking Margaret—"unless everyone in Inaba is thrown into a TV and shows up on the goddamn news or something."

"Very well," Naoto said, taking me by surprise. I'd been expecting an argument or at least a withering aside. "I hope you enjoy yourself."

I didn't know how to answer, so I floundered in silence.

"I'll mostly be studying for exams," Chie said glumly. Ugh, don't remind me. "Doubt it'll make much difference, though. Maybe you can tutor me, Nao-kun, so I'll be less hopeless."

"I'd rather you not call me that." Naoto grimaced at the nickname. "And I doubt I'd be much help, considering my curriculum is different from yours."

"Ah, so it seems there's something you can't do, after all." Yosuke grinned. Naoto lapsed into a melancholic quiet.

We talked about miscellaneous matters before everyone eventually went their separate ways to enjoy what remained of their Sunday. I found myself daydreaming about our upcoming vacation; I hadn't been lying about looking forward to it. A chance for a break from the murders, from this town, from everything. It sounded nice.

...

_"Would you mind comforting her for me? Thanks."_

The rough grain of Nanako's door pressed against my back. Why was every father figure in my life such an immense disappointment? I should really be used to it by now.

"Hey, Nanako, c'mon out. We should talk about this," I said. "I know it sucks not going on a trip, but..."

"Go away." Her small voice came out muffled through the closed door. I fell silent, listening to Nanako's quiet sobs, and didn't move until the lights beneath her door went out. 

Standing up, I stretched, working the kinks out of my knotted muscles. I should've gone upstairs, but instead, I went outside. Fuck Dojima. Besides, it wasn't like I had school tomorrow anyway. 

Thick, dense clouds obscured the moon. All was quiet and dark. A cool breeze ruffled my hair as I meandered through dimly lit streets. Somehow I wound up back in the shopping district, back in front of the shrine. There was no one around, although paper lanterns cast a soft orange glow. Everything was decrepit and poorly maintained. I sat on the stairs leading to the offertory box and gazed up at the night sky. It was too dark to see any stars. 

I sensed something watching me. The back of my neck prickled. 

"Who's there?"

A shadow moved.

"...Transfer student?"

Funky?

His prominent afro confirmed that it was, indeed, him, as well as the smell of marijuana surrounding him like a cloak. At his heels was a—was that fox wearing a bib? 

"What's up, my man? Enjoying the nightlife?" Funky asked. 

The mysterious fox yipped. 

"Uh... just wanted to go for a walk. How about you?"

"Oh, you know how it goes, hepcat." Funky airily waved the blunt in his hand, smoke looping around us both as he sat down. "Ain't nothing like a lil nighttime buzz."

Did the mysterious fox just nod? Had I been exposed to more bewildering fog without realizing it? Funky gave me a blunt. "This one's on me. Gotta celebrate the holidays, what with exams around the corner and all."

"Thanks." This all felt quite surreal. Funky pulled out a lighter and lit the cigarette blunt for me. 

"Exams are the worst, dawg. Why the fuck I gotta know why Egyptians wear makeup? How's that ever going to help me in life? Or what the root word of pend means?" Funky complained. "I'm planning on becoming a botanist when I finish high school, and all these exams do is ruin my good vibes. Ain't nobody gives a flying fuck about none of this crap."  

The mysterious fox yipped agreeably. 

"...Yeah. So, uh, who's your friend?" I asked. 

"What, fox? You don't know fox?! Fox is the man, man. You're missing out." Funky shook his head, disappointed, and I felt like I'd failed him. "She and I, we run Inaba." 

Fox darted away. I didn't know how to respond, so I just smoked my blunt. Fox returned a few seconds later with an ema plaque in her mouth. She deposited the ema in my lap and yipped, ears perked, dark eyes inquisitive.

"I'm pretty sure she's like a guardian spirit of the shrine, and I'm her spirit warrior from a long line of badass spirit warriors, chosen by the gods to deliver their gifts unto Inaba," Funky explained. 

I turned over the plaque, reading a request about helping someone's grandpa feel better. A leaf was attached to the back.

Fascinating. 

Bright lights and the loud roar of engines distracted me. A group of bikers went squealing down the road and flying around the corner. Several police cars followed, sirens blaring as they gave chase. Fox yelped and disappeared in a flash of orange fur.

"Damn biker gang." Funky looked annoyed. "Always ruining shit for everyone."

Struck by sudden paranoia, I stood up, stamping out my blunt. Dojima had said he'd be out late, but what if he came home earlier than expected and I wasn't there? Or, worse, what if a police officer saw me and told him I'd been out and about with a pothead?

"I should go. Thanks, man."

"You ain't just gonna leave that there, are you?" The accusation was explicit in Funky's voice. 

I blinked and then bent down, picking up the remains of the blunt. "Uh, course not."

"Mother nature is a goddess, son. Gotta treat her body with the respect she deserves, just like any other woman."

Right. I said goodbye to Funky Student and hurried on home, throwing my trash away as I exited the shrine premises. Thankfully Dojima's car still wasn't in the driveway. 

I showered, scrubbing myself clean before the water even fully heated up, and then shoved my clothes at the bottom of the dirty clothes bin. I sprayed some scented shit laying around all over everything. Dojima rarely did laundry anyway, but better safe than sorry.

...

Nanako was watching TV, as usual, the next morning. No visible traces of her sadness remained. The actors on the screen laughed and danced and played together; they looked happy. 

I grabbed some water and medicine for my pounding headache and chugged both down. Smacking my lips, I leaned against the table.

"Hey, let's go to Junes. We can still make some boxed lunches," I said.

Nanako wrapped her arms around her knees.

"Okay." 

On the walk over, we played a game where we avoided stepping on any cracks in the concrete or asphalt. I cheated with reckless abandon, often nudging Nanako, which got her giggling. Seeing her happy made me happy, too. 

The others hung around at the Junes food court. Chie and Yukiko had met up there, and Yosuke was on the clock but skiving off.

"Why'd you bring Nanako-chan to a place like Junes?" Yosuke asked, leaning back in his chair. 

"I don't mind, I love Junes!" Nanako declared. Yosuke looked ready to drop on one knee and propose.

"Besides, what else is there to do around here?" Chie said, taking the wind out of his sails. Nanako wilted.

"We were supposed to go on a real vacation, though." 

An awkward pause followed. Then Chie said, "Well, you're more than welcome to spend time with us if you want, Nanako-chan! I invited Naoto-kun, too, but I'm not sure if he's coming or not. He didn't seem interested."

"Seriously? Naoto's such a killjoy though," Yosuke complained. "I'm pretty sure he's secretly a robot." 

"We're going shopping." I was suddenly annoyed. "I'll see you guys later."

Nanako waved goodbye, and they waved back. 

"Your friends are nice," she said as we walked into the store. 

I shrugged. We raced around the store to see who could find the most ingredients. I may or may not have let Nanako win. Somehow, only one person yelled at us. 

Once we checked out, the others were where we'd left them—Yosuke _still_ wasn't working—and Naoto was there too. She moodily swirled her glass of water, the cubes of ice within spinning about in a vortex. When Naoto spotted me, she set her glass down with a resounding thud.

"Whoa, that's a lot of food," Yosuke said as we approached carrying heavy bags. 

"We're going to make boxed lunches," Nanako explained gravely.

"Wow! You can make boxed lunches, Nanako-chan?" Yukiko asked.

Nanako shook her head and glanced at me. I coughed. Hopefully, the others wouldn't start asking me to cook for them. I wasn't a freaking chef.  

"Oh, so you're the family cook? Pretty impressive, big bro." Chie grinned.

"Big... bro." Nanako smiled at me, and suddenly my chest hurt.

Embarrassed, I looked away and caught Naoto staring at me. Her expression was that of mild amusement and something else I didn't quite recognize. I scowled at her in response, which only seemed to amuse her even more. 

The other began talking more about food and their own cooking abilities—or lack thereof. Somehow the discussion turned into an argument between Yosuke and Chie, followed by plans for some sort of cooking contest. The grocery bags were heavy as hell, and so I set them on the ground. We ordered food from the concession stand, Yosuke making weird innuendoes about my hands all the while. Nanako listened happily to it all, seemingly carefree. 

"Nanako-chan can be the judge!" Yosuke brimmed with infectious enthusiasm. "I bet we'll make something that ranks up with your mom's cooking!"

I choked on my tater longs. Oh, fucking hell. 

"I don't have a mom," Nanako said, sucking all the energy out of the group in the process. "She died in an accident." 

 _Clink._ Naoto had spilled her drink. We all jumped to our feet.

"I-I apologize." Naoto's face turned red. "I don't know what—I'll clean this immediately."   

"Oh, um, yeah. It's no problem, I'll help, too," Yosuke said. They both scrambled to find some napkins and mop up the carbonated water. "And, uh, Nanako-chan? I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It's okay." Nanako smiled. "Even if I don't have a mom, I have Dad with me. And now I have a brother, too."

She blushed.

I swallowed my food with some difficulty. Did Nanako really, though? I would be gone in a year and Dojima… 

Nanako's response smoothed over the awkward tension, and the conversation quickly resumed. But I caught Naoto's eye and saw a similar disquiet reflected back at me. 

Yosuke had bought Nanako a soda, and she smiled as she drank, gripping the can in her tiny hands and laughing at a joke Yosuke told her. Just relaxing with everyone felt nice. For the first time, I realized I was actually rather fond of the group of people before me. 

…

When the doorbell rang, Naoto waited, hands in her pockets, fixated on the floor.

"I—what are you wearing?" she asked, caught off guard.

I looked down at my oven mitts and flowery apron. The entire household smelled like fried chicken.

"Big bro, what do I put in next, again?" Nanako called out from the kitchen. I didn't know how to feel about the nickname and chose not to acknowledge it.

"Potato starch," I hollered back. Then I met Naoto's steel grey gaze. "Speaks for itself, I'd say."

"Right." Naoto still seemed thrown, but she rebounded quickly. "I heard about what happened with Dojima-san. At work."  

"Oh. Yeah. Well, that's how it goes, sometimes."

"It's quite a generous gesture. Everyone at the station thinks highly of Dojima-san."

If only he could extend his family a similar courtesy. Nanako crept up behind me, leaning against the back of my leg. She clung to my pants, tiny fingers gripping through the fabric to the skin beneath. 

"So, what's up?" I asked. 

"I have a proposition." Naoto paused. The pause turned awkward.

"Okay? What is it?" I asked impatiently. 

Naoto hesitated a split second longer and then blurted out, "IwouldliketocordiallyinviteyoubothtotheShiroganeestate."

"...What?"

Naoto blushed and took a deep breath. Her hands were shaking. When she spoke again it was slow, each word carefully enunciated. "I would like to cordially invite you both to the Shirogane estate." 

I stared at her. Nanako gasped. 

"Really? I can come, too?" Her face lit up. 

Naoto smiled, relaxing, and knelt eye level with Nanako. "Of course. In fact, you're the guest of honor, Nanako-chan. My home is up in the mountains. It's quite beautiful. In the morning, you can watch the sunrise cradled between snowcapped peaks."

Her expression became wistful.

"Wow," Nanako said, wide-eyed. "That sounds amazing!" 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." I held up my hands. "You can't just—we'll have to talk to Dojima about this." 

I didn't want to crush Nanako's hopes a second time. 

"I already did. He gave me his blessing."

"Really?" I asked, confounded. Also, blessing? What, were we getting married? "And here I thought you were scared of him."

"That is a bold and frankly preposterous assumption," Naoto sniffed, ears reddening. "Regardless, Dojima-san agreed to my terms. We'll leave tomorrow and return Thursday afternoon. I advise packing warmly." 

"Yay! Thank you, Naoto-san! This is going to be so much fun, right, big bro?" Nanako asked, running in circles around my legs. I just shrugged, still staring at Naoto, who avoided my gaze. 

…

Dojima seemed unusually tired and grizzled when he came home. We'd finished packing and cooking enough boxed lunches for the group—Naoto had said she'd invited everyone—and played a board game at the table. 

"You could've told me you were friends, you know." Dojima sat on the couch, rustling through his paper, not looking at me. "I wouldn't have minded."

"We're going to the mountains!" Nanako said happily, saving me from having to respond. Then her smile became a frown. "I wish you could come with Dad."

He softened. "I know, I do too. But hey, you'll probably have way more fun without me around to muck things up. And I'll have a present waiting for you when you get back."

Nanako hummed happily.

After Dojima tucked her into bed, he gave me a slip of paper.

"Shirogane got the same thing, but you're the one I'm entrusting Nanako to. Looking after a kid on a trip is a big responsibility, one I wasn't sure you were ready for."

"What changed your mind?" I asked, somewhat stung even though he was probably right. The paper he handed me had a list of things Nanako could and couldn't do. The writing was sloppy, and he'd crossed and uncrossed some of them several times over. 

"Shirogane was very convincing." Dojima scratched the back of his head. "Seems like a good kid. You should spend more time with him. It'd also keep Shirogane away from the station, which would be an added bonus. He's driving everyone there nuts."

"Really?" I was intrigued. Dojima scowled.

"Forget I said anything."

"Did you say something?" I asked. He cracked a smile. "By the way, I might get a job offer at the hospital. I'm sort of thinking about gunning for it."

"Huh." Dojima scratched his stubble. "Your call. Just don't bite off more than you chew. I'm good friends with the daycare owner, so I can get you in whenever if you need a fallback. Now go to bed. And have fun tomorrow." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I originally had the visit to the Shirogane estate in this chapter as well, but it just felt too long and cluttered, so I decided to split it. The good news is the next chapter is basically finished, the bad news is I word vomited most of it out for nanowrimo, and therefore it's terrible and in dire need of editing. I'll try to get it out by next week but considering I'm already behind on my writing goals I can't guarantee it, lmao. It's one of the first major departures from the game I have planned though, and I really want it to be... good. So, yeah. Have a nice day, peeps.
> 
> And just so we're all aware, scenes with Nanako and Naoto together are an absolute nightmare. I'm absurdly paranoid about making another mistake like the last chapter. *flies into the sun in despair*


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